After last week’s decision that they would no longer abide by eco-friendly standards set by certifier, EPEAT, Apple was met with an onslaught of criticism from both the environmental community and loyal consumers alike. Luckily, Apple has decided to go back on its word and continue conforming to EPEAT standards.
“We’ve recently heard from many loyal Apple customers who were disappointed to learn that we had removed our products from the EPEAT rating system. I recognize that this was a mistake. Starting today, all eligible Apple products are back on EPEAT,” Bob Mansfield, SVP of Hardware Engineering at Apple, wrote in a letter on Apple’s site.
EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) reduces the environmental impact of computer desktops, laptops, and monitors by certifying them on 51 environmental criteria developed through an extensive stakeholder consensus process supported by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
According to ecorazzi, it was rumored that the decision to move away from EPEAT may have been due to Apple’s newly glued-in batteries in its MacBook Pro. This change rendered the machine unable to be recycled since it could no longer be properly taken apart.
The move back to EPEAT standards is in line with Apple’s long standing eco-friendly philosophy. They were among one of the original companies involved in designing the EPEAT rating criteria. Apple is continually making vast efforts to remove toxic chemicals from new products, reduce their carbon offests, use less packaging, all the while maintaining an aggressive recycling system for old products.