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March 23, 2007

business

Apple, Gore, Greenpeace, and Mother Earth

Posted Mar. 23, ’07, 2:57 PM PT by Scott Silverman
Category | Business

GreenappleGreenpeace is at it once again, urging Apple to both make their computers greener and implement some kind of recycling program. Only this time they’re employing a bit of a different method: Al Gore. Seeing as Al Gore sits on Apple’s board of directors and is widely known for his environmental advocacy, Greenpeace and over 70 other groups are urging Gore to urge Apple to up their environmental game.

Reportedly the Apple Board of Directors has two different proposals in front of it which would improve Apple’s environmental policies. As of right now, draft versions of board documents say that the board unanimously opposes these proposals. This is where environmental groups want Gore to step in and do some convincing to reverse the board recommendation. Ultimately this recommendation will be made to the shareholders who will vote on the proposals.

Gore, being a smart man with both environmental and business commitments, I’m sure will make the right choice. While I personally would love to see Apple improve its environmental game, in such a time of growth for the company, it may not be the right time.

[via InfiniteLoop]


10 Comments

Thomas GvL said:

As much as I like Apple and suspect Greenpeace of exaggerating their environmental wrongdoing, there is no "right time" for saving planet Earth. That is something that's long overdue. More people should see the big picture: do we want Leopard a month earlier and iPods $20 cheaper, or do we want to reduce pollution on the planet we live on?

March 23, 2007 3:04 PM
spiderbat said:

I sincerely hope that Al will have the same success in convincing the Apple Board of Directors to embrace the requests of greenpiece as it had in convincing the Americans to choose him as President (I'm not necessarily implying that this would have been a bad choice).

March 23, 2007 3:08 PM
Kashchei Author Profile Page said:

I can think of a way for Apple to kill two birds with one stone. They could polish up their green credentials at the same time they satisfy a significant user base by releasing a mid-level headless computer, something between the Mac mini and the Mac Pro. Apple could rightfully claim that this new line would keep perfectly good monitors from being recycled when an iMac was retired. In doing so, Apple would also expand their product line, hopefully learning a lesson from the Cube. Are you listening, Apple?

March 23, 2007 3:55 PM
Dave said:

Al Gore would best serve the Apple Board by keeping quiet and let the Board function without external special interest pressures. The errors and exaggerations in his recent movie have hurt his credibility and any undo environmental influence he may exert could impact the credibility of a Board that is driving one of the most admired and best run Corporations in America. Apple will seek and find the right balance of environmental and business factors for the business to continue to succeed.

March 23, 2007 5:07 PM
Al said:

Boards of directors automatically recommend that outside proposals be rejected, no matter how sound. I think you will find that Apple will clean up its act in its own good time. Meanwhile Greenpeace should be hassling the old dirty power plants.

March 24, 2007 7:49 AM
François said:

There is no better time than a time of growth for a company like Apple to improve its environmental game. If the company can figure out how to conjugate expansion and green initiatives right from the start, it will develop a set of good habits that it will carry on through every new development. It would be more difficult to wait for the growth period to stabilize and then try to turn a giant machine around. You can't always agree with Greenpeace, but I think it's right to pressure Apple to produce greener computers and offer recycling, and heck, it might even prove to be a wise marketing move.

March 24, 2007 9:02 AM
Larry said:

Apple's primary goal is to achieve a maximum profit for its investors. It is unbelievable that a boardmember would even contemplate making an effort to sidetrack that goal by demanding the company bow to the Greenpeace anti-industrial moral vision.

The strict separation of church and state should apply as well to church and business.

March 24, 2007 12:31 PM
TowerTone said:

I'm sure Al Gore will demand the same latitude from the board that he demanded from a Congressional committee. Rules don't apply to him. so all he has to do is sell Apple a load of (BS) carbon offsets from the company he owns and everyone will be happy, and as usual in these circumstances, nothing will have changed.

March 24, 2007 3:48 PM
Goose said:

I am very concern about what some people have said here, but I will not go into proving them wrong, or proving Gore, or any other environmentalist right for that matter. What I do want to say is that I applaud Thomas for his statement.

March 26, 2007 4:38 AM
Brianfit said:

Now is EXACTLY the right time for Apple to go green. In fact, they ought to be exceeding Greenpeace demands.

Michael Dell has challenged the entire industry to take back their old products and recycle them responsibly. That's the kind of corporate spirit the world needs, that those kids in Asia who disassemble our cast-away electronics need, as they breathe in carcinogens from burning circuit boards. Dell listened to Greenpeace, he got it.

Apple is the great innovator, the company that makes society BETTER, the company that knows how to be a radical iconoclast that doesn't accept good enough.

Apple users shouldn't be expected to accept "good enough" when it comes to the environmental quality of their electronics. Apple can give us the best. Apple can change the world.

Revolutions don't happen at convenient times.

April 19, 2007 12:29 PM

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