Apple turned some heads a few days ago when it was revealed that it pulled all of its products out of the US government's Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). The list was first released in 2006 and was created by the Environmental Protection Agency to certify tech products that can have their materials recycled.
In a statement to the website The Loop, an Apple spokesperson said:
Apple takes a comprehensive approach to measuring our environmental impact and all of our products meet the strictest energy efficiency standards backed by the US government, Energy Star 5.2. We also lead the industry by reporting each product's greenhouse gas emissions on our website, and Apple products are superior in other important environmental areas not measured by EPEAT, such as removal of toxic materials.
The statement doesn't really state why Apple decided to pull its products from EPEAT. However, this move is already impacting its business. The Wall Street Journal reports that the city of San Francisco's Department of Environment has now issued an order to all of the city's government agencies that Apple's laptops and desktops cannot be purchased with money from the city.
Melanie Nutter, director of San Francisco’s Department of Environment, is quoted as saying, "We are disappointed that Apple chose to withdraw from EPEAT and we hope that the city saying it will not buy Apple products will make Apple reconsider its participation."
Source: The Loop
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