{"id":4886,"date":"2023-10-24T04:48:50","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T04:48:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/business\/apples-carbon-neutral-claims-come-under-scrutiny\/"},"modified":"2023-10-24T04:48:50","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T04:48:50","slug":"apples-carbon-neutral-claims-come-under-scrutiny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=4886","title":{"rendered":"Apple\u2019s \u2018carbon neutral\u2019 claims come under scrutiny"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Apple faces scrutiny from European environmental and consumer groups over its claims that its latest devices are \u201ccarbon neutral\u201d, a term that Brussels proposes to ban in corporate marketing because it is \u201cmisleading\u201d.<\/p>\n

The iPhone maker last month put its \u201cenvironmentally friendly\u201d credentials at the centre of its biggest annual product launch. It called some Apple Watch models its \u201cfirst-ever carbon neutral products\u201d, part of a drive to extend the classification across all its devices by the end of the decade. <\/p>\n

But the US tech giant\u2019s decision to rely on credits to cancel out the 7-12kg of greenhouse gas emissions behind each new Watch prompted a sharp reaction from consumer groups in the wake of a long-trailed clampdown by the EU on \u201cgreenwashing\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarbon neutral claims are scientifically inaccurate and mislead consumers,\u201d Monique Goyens, the director-general of BEUC, the European consumer organisation, told the Financial Times. \u201cThe EU\u2019s recent decision to ban carbon neutral claims will rightly clear the market of such bogus messages, and Apple Watches should be no exception.\u201d <\/p>\n

The debate over Apple\u2019s claims highlights the problems facing companies that are trying to follow environmentally sound policies, while seeking to make marketing statements to tout their green credentials. <\/p>\n

Apple told the FT its move was \u201ca proof point of one of the boldest climate commitments in industry today\u201d. \u201cTo achieve global climate goals, we need immediate action to drastically cut emissions paired with investments in conservation and carbon removal at scale,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n

The US group\u2019s efforts as well as its progress on recycling targets and emission cuts are in sharp contrast to, for example, its main rival Samsung, which leaves out key emission details in its 2050 net zero target.<\/p>\n

In the days following the Watch launch, Brussels said that by 2026 it would ban \u201cneutrality\u201d claims that are based on the purchase of carbon credits, which compensate for the release of emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. <\/p>\n

The European parliament and Council, two decision-making bodies, reached a political\u00a0agreement in September to ban \u201cmisleading advertisements\u201d, including \u201cclaims based on emissions offsetting schemes that a product has neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment\u201d.\u00a0This accord is yet to be formally adopted. <\/p>\n

Climate campaigners have also questioned whether tracking carbon emissions provided a thorough assessment of the environmental impact of small electronic devices such as smartwatches and wireless earbuds, which can be difficult to repair and often end up as e-waste. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s misleading to consumers to give the impression that buying the Watch has no impact on the climate at all,\u201d said Gilles Dufrasne, a policy officer at the non-profit Carbon Market Watch, which is in part funded by the EU. \u201cIt\u2019s accounting tricks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carbon questions<\/h3>\n

Independent non-profit climate change organisations question whether the carbon credits purchased by Apple at the end of each fiscal year are of a high enough quality to remove carbon dioxide permanently from the atmosphere. <\/p>\n

Apple says the credits will make up for emissions linked to the Watch\u2019s manufacturing, shipping and charging over its lifetime, thanks to carbon absorbed by timber plantations and reforestation projects on land that had previously been deforested for cattle-ranching in Paraguay and Brazil, or similar projects. These schemes help restore native forest and create economic opportunities for local communities, Apple adds.<\/p>\n

But critics have cast doubt on these plans. Niklas Kaskeala, chair of the board at the Compensate Foundation, a non-profit adviser to potential buyers of carbon credits, said offsets based on timber plantations such as these presented \u201csystemic flaws\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cTrees are turned into pulp and cardboard or toilet paper,\u201d Kaskeala said, highlighting that \u201cthe carbon stored in these products is released back into the atmosphere very quickly\u201d. <\/p>\n

Documents detailing one scheme Apple has backed through a conservation fund show that the majority of the newly planted trees are chopped down to be sold as timber in little more than a decade. <\/p>\n

That project, called Forestal Apepu, repurposed land in Paraguay that was formerly used for soy, corn and beef production by planting trees, mostly eucalyptus, with up to 25 per cent left as \u201cnatural forest\u201d. The documents described eucalyptus, which is often criticised when it is grown in \u201cmonocultures\u201d, as suitable for the production of \u201cquality timber\u201d. About 1 per cent of the land is set aside to regrow native species.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur approach to decarbonising products offers a rigorous blueprint for how businesses can do their part, prioritising deep emissions reductions across our value chain before applying high-quality carbon credits,\u201d Apple said. \u201cWe are committed to driving new innovations to lower emissions and to scaling nature-based carbon removal as we accelerate progress towards 2030.\u201d <\/p>\n

Scientists at the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have said that other carbon removal techniques, such as injecting carbon dioxide into rocks, are generally more effective at locking the greenhouse gas away long-term than vegetation-based approaches. <\/p>\n

Race to zero<\/h3>\n

Apple\u2019s Watch nonetheless shows progress on its materials recycling targets, with the latest edition for example using only recycled cobalt in the battery and recycled aluminium in the casing.<\/p>\n

The Silicon Valley company has cut up to 81 per cent of emissions linked to the Watch compared with a 2015 baseline and has promised to cut 90 per cent of group-level emissions from that baseline by 2050. <\/p>\n

In contrast, its main rival Samsung does not include emissions from manufacturing and consumer product use \u2014 the much larger part of its carbon footprint \u2014 in its 2050 net zero target. <\/p>\n

Samsung told the FT it was evaluating its carbon levels and \u201cevolving [its] approach to reflect the actions needed to achieve net zero\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Apple claims the manufacturing process for its Watch is already powered by \u201c100 per cent clean electricity\u201d. Apple \u201cmatches\u201d any electricity use by its suppliers from power grids that is generated from fossil fuels, by investing in what it describes as \u201cclean energy projects\u201d. <\/p>\n

However, NewClimate Institute, a non-profit organisation, said Apple\u2019s \u201cassertion\u201d that it only used clean electricity for manufacturing was \u201chighly contentious, since Apple\u2019s major suppliers continue to have very low renewable electricity shares\u201d. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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