As managing editor of Computer maker Apple Inc. tried to quiet critics of the company's environmental record today with long open letter posted on Apple's Web site.
The letter from CEO Steve Jobs, titled "A Greener Apple," goes into detail about Apple's efforts to remove various toxic chemicals from its products, and to recycle old Macs and iPods. The letter makes some plastics-related promises, specifically related to PVC and brominated flame retardants: "Apple plans to completely eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs in its products by the end of 2008."
Here are some details:
Some companies have made promises to phase out other toxic chemicals like polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a type of plastic primarily used in the construction industry but also found in computer parts and cables, and brominated flame retardants, or BFRs, which reduce the risk of fire. Apple began phasing out PVC twelve years ago and began restricting BFRs in 2001. For the past several years, we have been developing alternative materials that can replace these chemicals without compromising the safety or quality of our products. Today, we’ve successfully eliminated the largest applications of PVC and BFRs in our products, and we’re close to eliminating these chemicals altogether. For example, more than three million iPods have already shipped with a BFR-free laminate on their logic boards.Dell and Lenovo have publicly stated that they plan to eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs in their products in 2009. Hewlett Packard has not yet publicly stated when they will eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs in their products, but has said that they will publish a plan by the end of 2007 which will state when in the future they will eliminate the use of these toxic chemicals in their products.
Apple plans to completely eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs in its products by the end of 2008.
A note of comparison — In 2007 HP stated that they will remove PVC from all their packaging. Apple did this 12 years ago. Last year, Dell began the process of phasing out large quantities of brominated flame retardants in large plastic enclosure parts. Apple’s plastic enclosure parts have been bromine-free since 2002.
In one environmental group’s recent scorecard, Dell, HP and Lenovo all scored higher than Apple because of their plans (or “plans for releasing plans” in the case of HP). In reality, Apple is ahead of all of these companies in eliminating toxic chemicals from its products.
Apple has been under pressure from Greenpeace to, among other things, phase out PVC. Today, Greenpeace is ethusiastically applauding Apple's new stance:
We are cheering! Steve Jobs has decided to bring us closer to the greener apple that Mac users all over the world have been asking for.Today we saw something we've all been waiting for: the words "A Greener Apple" on the front page of Apple's site, with a message from Steve Jobs saying "Today we're changing our policy."
It's not everything we asked for. 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 manufactures' pledge to phase them out by 2009. Way to go Steve!
Greenpeace can take credit for forcing this change. But it will be up to Apple and its suppliers to find materials that perform as well.