10/09, 9:20am
Groups take sides in row over environmental laws
Both Greenpeace and the US Secretary of Energy are welcoming an Apple decision to abandon the US Chamber of Commerce. The former's toxics campaigner, Casey Harrell, on Thursday issued a statement which applauded Apple for confronting the Chamber over its opposition to mandatory limits on greenhouse gases. Apple is the first technology company to have removed itself from the Chamber over the issue, though it was preceded by shoe maker Nike, and several energy companies including Exelon, PNM Resources and Pacific Gas & Electric.
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09/28, 9:15pm
Group suggests Greenpeace isn't the only watchdog
A California-based nonprofit, As You Sow, claims it has been a significant influence in Apple's latest campaign to develop environmentally-conscious practices. Although Greenpeace typically gets the first mention amongst organizations pushing companies to improve their methods, As You Sow suggests it directly engaged the Mac maker to disclose carbon footprint data.
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09/24, 11:15pm
Apple overhauls green info
Apple tonight put new life into its eco-friendly image with a major overhaul of its environment data. The new site puts an emphasis on the company's complete ecological impact and includes details of how each iPhone, iPod and Mac impacts the environment from its assembly through to its recycling or disposal, including detailed breakdowns of the toxicity of the materials used and the energy used in a sleep state when it applies. A broader scope also shows the company's total carbon emission footprint beyond its product, including its offices and retail stores.
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07/28, 12:20pm
Greenpeace anti HP Protest
Greenpeace through its Twitter feed said Tuesday that it has launched a campaign against HP today to criticize the company for its environmental policy. The activist group claims to have painted the roof of HP's Palo Alto headquarters with the words "hazardous products" and to be calling HP staffers with automated messages from William Shatner asking why the company hasn't lived up to its promises of greener products. The protesters now hold Apple as a model for green improvement and claim HP is lagging behind, particularly in its continued use of toxics like bromide flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in its computers.
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03/31, 10:35am
Greenpeace shifts rankings
Several companies have shifted positions within Greenpeace's quarterly tech industry rankings, the latest report from the environmental group states. One of the notable increases in rank belongs Apple, which has risen four spots in the list to reach 10th place. All of the company's major products, barring power cords, are now claimed to be free of PVC plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs); Greenpeace criticizes the company, however, for using "unreasonably high" threshold limits in counting products as free of the chemicals.
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12/21, 5:00pm
Dell vs. Apple on greening
Dominant PC builder Dell has sharply criticized Apple for its environmental claims, a promotional blog post reveals. The company's community VP, Bob Pearson, has specifically taken aim at a recent MacBook ad, which suggests that the new unibody systems are the "greenest" notebooks on the market. Apple is only making broad claims without providing any long-term plans or even facts to back them up, says Pearson.
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12/08, 12:50pm
Greenpeace Picks on Apple
Greenpeace may be unfairly singling out Apple in its latest technology rankings, research by BusinessWeek shows. The magazine notes that Apple's score on the eco-friendly chart has barely moved despite its green initiative that eliminated toxins and many non-recyclable materials from most of notebooks, which itself followed similar moves to purge many of the materials from iPhones and iPods.
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11/26, 12:05am
Greenpeace rates Apple
Apple has again lost ground against several competitors in the Greenpeace Greener Electronics ratings, despite a slight increase on the scale to 4.3 points. The environmental group cited positive changes in the computer manufacturer's processes and materials, including the removal of PVC and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from some products, but noted that the company would have to completely phase-out such chemicals to score higher on the list. Greenpeace also noted that Apple needs to commit to timelines detailing the elimination of other hazardous materials from its products.
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09/29, 12:10pm
Mac Pro toxic? [u]
(Updated with corrections) Mac Pros may be producing fumes that contain toxic chemicals, according to tests posted on a French site for Mac enthusiasts, MacBidouille. The testing laboratory, Analytika, used multiple sensors over a period of eight days to collect air circulated by the cooling fan. Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, the report claims to have identified seven organic contaminants in the vapors.
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09/11, 3:10pm
Greenpeace on new iPods
Apple has made yet more environmental progress with its latest iPods, but still has more to accomplish, claims Greenpeace. The activist organization notes that the latest iPod nano has a number of positive checkpoints, such as arsenic-free glass, and a complete lack of mercury, PVC or brominated flame retardants (BFRs), all of which are said to be toxic in varying degrees. Though not immediately dangerous, the chemicals can form a cumulative threat when deposited en-masse in landfills.
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08/05, 11:00pm
Recyclers pollute Ghana
Scientists sent by Greenpeace to Ghana have recently found extreme cases of chemical contamination at two "e-waste" facilities. Soil and water tests were conducted at two electronics scrap yards where various items such as broken computers, monitors, and televisions are shipped from the United States and Europe for processing and extraction of scrap metals. Brands of these items included Philips, Sony, Microsoft, Nokia, Dell, Canon, and Siemens. The two scrap yards were located in two cities: one in the capital city Accra and another in the city of Korforidua.
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07/09, 7:05pm
Greenpeace pans iPhone 3G
Greenpeace is again calling Apple out on its environmental practices, citing that the iPhone 3G uses the same toxic building materials that it found in its breakdown of the original device. Casey Harrell, International Toxics Campaigner for Greenpeace, released a note on Wednesday saying he believes that, while the company has made large strides with reducing hazardous materials in its iMac and portable computers, the iPhone 3G remains largely unchanged.
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06/25, 12:20pm
Apple falls in Greenpeace
Apple has slipped in terms of environmental friendliness, claims Greenpeace. The activist group has published a new edition of its Guide to Greener Electronics, and whereas in the last rankings Apple jumped from 2.7 to 6.7 -- due to the release of the less toxic MacBook Air -- the company has since slipped to just 4.1, marking it as an offending company.
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03/18, 12:40pm
Greenpeace CE rankings
Japan's Toshiba and Korea's Samsung are the most environmentally friendly of the major electronics manufacturers, claims Greenpeace. The activist group has published a new edition of its Guide to Greener Electronics, ranking producers of consumer electronics against each other in terms of factors like pollution and recycling. Toshiba has leaped ahead six positions to tie the previous leader, Samsung, due to continued improvement in areas of both recycling and electronic waste; Samsung's static ranking, meanwhile, is attributed to an "incomplete" product takeback policy.
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01/17, 7:15pm
Greenpeace applauds Apple
Greenpeace today applauded Apple for the release of its new MacBook Air laptop, calling the device "a winner" and a strong entry in the race to build a green PC. The organization commends Apple's decision to ship a mercury and arsenic-free laptop, which Greenpeace says exceeds European Standards and raises the bar for the rest of the industry. Apple is on the right track, according to activists, and needs to make environmental leadership the theme of all of its products -- both old and new.
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11/27, 2:05pm
Greenpeace December 2007
A combination of new entrants and shifts in corporate practices have shaken up the rankings for ecologically friendly electronics makers, according to the December 2007 Greenpeace guide to the technology industry. Apple has improved from its previously very low scores, moving from 12th to 11th place; this is largely due to the use of aluminum and glass for the new iMac as well as a reduction in toxic chemicals for many iPods. The company nonetheless needs to more explicitly outline which hazardous substances it continues to use and also needs to greatly expand its takeback policy for recycling obsolete hardware outside of the US, Greenpeace argues.
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