14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that some organizations simply have no shame. After several reports that singled out Apple as not being 'green' enough, Greenpeace is now patting itself and its fans on the back, practically claiming credit for Apple's efforts.
The Greenpeace reports that made such a big deal on Apple was never more than a PR spin, since the organization never actually bothered to investigate just what companies are doing in order to eliminate hazardous substances from their products. Instead, the entire report merely ranked companies "on information that is publicly available" about their plans for the future. It made no difference to Greenpeace whether a company had actually eliminated harmful substances from their products. If there was no big fanfare and announcement, it simply didn't take place and the company that made a big promise about the future was in a better position. This was the case of Apple, who has been taking significant steps towards greener products for a very long time. However, Apple has never made any big announcement, and truth be told, there is no reason they should have. Why should a computer company be bragging about doing something that they should be doing regardless?
But Greenpeace took things one step further, and after Job's open letter, posted their own reaction which is shocking, to say the least.
Recently, Apple put a banner with the words "A Greener Apple" on the front page of its website, linking to a personal letter from Steve Jobs. In it he actually says that Apple's consumers, employees, shareholders and the industry "want us to be a leader in [becoming greener], just as we are in the other areas of our business. So today we're changing our policy." That's right, people: you've done it -- you've moved Apple. You're the consumers of Apple's products and you've proven you make a real difference. You convinced one of the world's most cutting edge companies to peel the toxic ingredients out of the products they sell. Apple has declared a phase out of the worst chemicals in its product range, Brominated Fire Retardants (BFRs) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) by 2008. That beats Dell and other computer manufacturer's pledge to phase them out by 2009. Way to go Steve!
Somehow, Greenpeace seems to think that their vaporware reports convinced Apple to start phasing out PVC from their products, when Apple's report clearly states that this has been a work in progress for 12 years. It appears that Greenpeace missed the fact that this open letter from Apple is merely a statement of fact, detailing efforts that have been underway for some time. Apple's policy on environmentally friendly products has not changed, only their policy of public announcements regarding these efforts. Then again, if you routinely publish reports where promises are taken as deeds, it can become easy to confuse deeds with promises.