Apple has announced their decision to stop participating in a major program devoted to the production of environmentally friendly products. Reports say Apple feels that its design direction is no longer in line with the program’s requirements.
Late last month, Apple told the nonprofit EPEAT group that the company would no longer submit its products for green certification from EPEAT and that it was pulling its currently certified products from the group’s registry.
39 of Apple’s products had received the stamp of approval from EPEAT, including Apple’s laptops, the MacBook Pro, and the MacBook Air.
EPEAT, or the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, receives funding from the Environmental Protection Agency and says it is “the leading global environmental rating system for electronic products, connecting purchasers to environmentally preferable choices and benefiting producers who demonstrate environmental responsibility and innovation.”
The U.S. government requires that 95 percent of its electonics bear the EPEAT seal, many large companies, such as Ford, require buying from EPEAT-certified companies, and many large universities prefer buying EPEAT-certified items.
Apple “said their design direction was no longer consistent with the EPEAT requirements,” EPEAT CEO Robert Frisbee said. “They were important supporters and we are disappointed that they don’t want their products measured by this standard anymore.”
Among other requirements, EPEAT requirements say that electronics must be easy to disassemble, so their components can be recycled. The iPhone, iPad, and the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display don’t meet that requirement because parts like batteries and displays are glued to casings.
CIO Journal reports that Apple may soon introduce an alternate green standard to be applied to its products.