“It’s easy to be cynical about big companies’ claims that they cherish the environment. If that were so, why are industrial waste and emissions among the biggest reasons our planet is so screwed up?” David Lazarus writes for The Los Angeles Times. “Every so often, though, there’s reason for hope. Or at least a smidgen of hope.”
“Apple announced this week that it’s working with the World Wildlife Fund to protect 1 million acres of forest land in China, where the company does most of its manufacturing.,” Lazarus writes. “The company also said it’s aiming for 100% of its energy, and that of its suppliers, to come from renewable sources such as solar, wind and hydropower. ‘This won’t happen overnight — in fact, it will take years — but it’s important work that has to happen,’ said Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook.”
“Considering that we’re talking about the world’s largest corporation by market capitalization, these are moves that will force people to take notice. They set a powerful example for other businesses,” Lazarus writes. “They also show spineless politicians the world over that, yes, it’s possible to be socially responsible and still adhere to good old-fashioned capitalistic principles.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, Apple leads, all others follow (hopefully, in this case).
Related articles:
Greenpeace: Apple is tech’s greenest – May 15, 2015
Apple expands renewable energy, new environmental initiatives in China – May 10, 2015
Apple releases 2014 Environmental Responsibility Report; targets rising water use, production partners’ emissions – July 10, 2014
How Apple took the lead on the environment – February 22, 2012
Apple just gets it. Living responsibly, putting a ding in the universe, is about making good decisions. Smart decisions. Caring decisions. Insightful decisions. Timely decisions. Way to go, Apple!
Tim Cook and Apple “get it” alright.
They understand that if you manufacture the vast majority of your products in China, then those products are produced under the environmental laws and regulations of China.
Perhaps that explains why Chinese people are unable to breath their air and drink their water, both contain the pollutants produced ‘during the manufacture of millions of iPhones and MacBooks and iPads.
Environmental arbitrage adds to Apple’s Profits. That’s what is well understood.
But why would other companies follow? Doing that is only going to put a drag on their earnings. Wall Street already hates Apple for spending money on things they think are useless to investors. You really think those big hedge funds on Wall Street care about things like the environment? It’s all about how much money a company can make to put money back into investor’s pockets. Apple is only going to make more enemies on Wall Street by setting some green example. Wall Street greed is only interested in making money and nothing else.
All those big hedge fund guys talk about is more buybacks to return money to investors. You’d never hear them say something like rebuilding forests or water purification plants or anything that would help mankind in general. They simply do not think in those terms.
Other companies would follow for the same reasons they followed Apple into iPhones and iPads: if they don’t, they will lose mindshare of the consuming public and their customers. So, in a sense, and in the long run, environmental efforts may surely favorably impact earnings. Think of it as an investment, not an expense, and an investment with a long-term payoff.
Incidentally, Apple hired Lisa Jackson, formerly head of the US EPA, to run its environmental efforts, with a team of 17 at the end of 2013. (http://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/16/apple-environmental-chief-lisa-jackson-driving-sustainability-efforts/) That did not seem to tank the stock. So why should this?
Besides, pressure to spend money on environmental projects might reduce pressure for managers to piss the money away in other areas.
Another reason why I <3 Apple.
Meanwhile, back at the Congress: Severe cuts have been made to NASA's Earth monitoring funding specifically so NASA can't continue (because it already has) to verify the damage to Earth due to the Green House Effect, aka human created massive overload of CO2 and other green house gasses in the air and subsequent massive carbonic acid (in equilibrium with CO2) in the Earth's water systems.
DUH humanity.
Thank you Apple for actually DOING something instead of hiding it and pulling congressional strings to hide it further.
And no folks, you don't need to be any lefty/socialist/commie to want to stop global warming. You need to be a SURVIVALIST. And that's important.
[Yeah, I heard further news about the NASA cuts on NPR yesterday afternoon, another reason why the congress attempted to kill NPR funding this year, yet again. Keep those pesky peasants barefoot and stupid!]