Environment

Apple drops to sixth in Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics

Ed Sutherland ∙ November 19, 2012

Apple's environmental credentials lost some of their luster in the eyes of watchdog group Greenpeace. The company ranked #6 among consumer electronics firms, a slip in stature largely blamed on lack of transparency. While ranking high in product's energy efficiency, the gadget maker from California lost points for not providing information on its greenhouse gas emissions that could be externally verified. Apple also received poor marks for not setting a target for lower emissions, the group announced Monday...

Apple’s green ranking drops to 118 in US

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Despite recently obtaining a green apple logo, the iPhone maker's ranking when it comes to green issues took a beating. The consumer tech giant ranks 118 among U.S. companies, a 68-point drop from a year ago. According to one report, Apple failing to answer a survey on greenhouse gas emissions from its American facilities via the Carbon Disclosure Project in both 2012 and 2011 was the chief reason for the poor showing...

How green is the iPad mini?

Cody Lee ∙ October 27, 2012

In the run up to last week's iPad mini event, we heard multiple rumors claiming that Apple's new tablet would come in multiple colors, like the iPod touch. But obviously, the speculation never materialized.

Like other iPads and iPhones before it, the iPad mini only comes in two colors: white and black. There is, however, one other color that folks seem to be concerned about: green. How green is the iPad mini?

Apple buys 200 acres in North Carolina for second solar farm

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

According to a new report today, Apple just laid out $3 million to purchase 200 acres of land in North Carolina near its Maiden data center for a second major solar farm.

As you may recall, Apple is nearing completion of its first 20-megawatt solar farm just across the street from its North Carolina campus, which is the largest of its kind...

BioLite CampStove lets you charge your iOS device by burning stuff

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 16, 2012

Say what you will, but all day long performance is a pipe dream with today's power-hungry iOS devices. Because these are mini computers, iOS devices require lots of juice to run. Unfortunately, space constraints and today's battery technology just can't keep up with the realities of mobile computing (yet).

Folks tackle the problem with battery packs, but that's just another item to lug around while out and about. And guess what, a battery pack is one item that routinely gets forgotten in my camping preparations. But I never forget a camp stove.

Enter BioLite's CampStove, an awesome new 'accessory', basically a special camp stove which lets you burn stuff - be it wood and pine or twigs and leaves or other bio mass - to convert heat to energy via its built-in thermoelectric generator, so you can charge your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. The campfire will never be the same. A cool promo video follows right below...

Following customer complaints, Apple puts every product back on EPEAT

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Wow, here's something you don't see everyday: following a number of customer complaints, Apple has decided to return its products to the EPEAT registry. The news comes just a week after we reported that its products had been removed.

Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware, Bob Mansfield, took to Apple's website in Steve Jobs-like fashion this morning, writing an open letter explaining the whole situation. We've got the full letter after the break...

Greenpeace: Apple’s clean energy policies have significantly improved

Cody Lee ∙ July 12, 2012

Apple has been taking a lot of heat regarding its environmental policies over the past week. This due to the news that the company has recently pulled its products from the EPEAT registry.

But despite the fact that its products will no longer be EPEAT-certified, environmental groups say that Apple's 'green' polices are improving. Greenpeace, in fact, just upped the company's CEI score...

How Apple’s $1 billion iCloud data center almost didn’t get built

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 12, 2012

An interesting feature by Katie Fehrenbacher of GigaOM has an insightful look at how Apple's $1 billion data center in North Carolina came to be and how it almost didn’t get built. Luckily, officials were able to work out the deal and boy did it pay off. Because Apple is a powerful company, the iCloud data center gave Catawba County a much needed bargaining chip in convincing others to build their data centers there, too...

Apple responds to concerns over EPEAT withdraw

Cody Lee ∙ July 11, 2012

Last week, the news came out that Apple had recently removed 39 of its products from the EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) registry. EPEAT is essentially a list of environmentally friendly products.

There's already been a significant amount of backlash — from both the media and consumers — regarding the announcement. So last night, the company decided to comment on the matter...

Apple pulls products from Environmental Assessment Tool registry

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Despite Apple's efforts — utilizing large solar farms at all of its major campuses, and offering a recycling program for used products — the company continues to catch heat over its effect on the environment.

And this latest move certainly isn't going to help its case. Word is that the company has just pulled all of its products from EPEAT's (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) green-friendly registry...

Approved: iCloud getting biogas cell farm, too

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 7, 2016

Apple's plan to use renewable energy sources to power its $1 billion data center in Maiden, North Carolina by the end of this year has received another important nod from The North Carolina Utilities Commission.

The agency just greenlighted a 4.5-megawatt fuel cell installation that will produce electricity from eco-friendly biogas in order to power a huge array of iCloud servers.

Not bad for a cloud that relies on “19th-century coal energy”...

Take that, Greenpeace! Apple’s iCloud solar farm is a go

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Apple doesn't run the cleanest of clouds, we all know this. Fortunately, the company's strides to reduce reliance on "19th-century coal energy”, as Greenpeace put it, have received a boost from The North Carolina Utilities Commission which has now approved plans for a massive solar farm to power Apple's $1 billion data center in Maiden, North Carolina.

It's gonna provide 20 megawatts of power to power iCloud servers that host the iTunes infrastructure, your music, photos, contacts and iOS device backups, to name a few...