Report: Apple exits green electronics program

Apple Inc. has exited an international program that issues environmental rating for electronic products, saying it will no longer be submitting its products for evaluation. The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool said Apple has already made known its withdrawal from the EPEAT registry, with a tech site noting Apple's recent products may not meet one of its requirements. "We regret that Apple will no longer be registering its products in EPEAT.  We hope that they will decide to do so again at some point in future," EPEAT said in a June 29 news article. EPEAT defines itself as the leading global environmental rating system for electronic products, "connecting purchasers to environmentally preferable choices and benefiting producers who demonstrate environmental responsibility and innovation." It said participating electronics manufacturers consider EPEAT a chance to showcase and validate their greener design initiatives, cleaner production and customer support services. New products not meeting requirement? A separate article on tech site CNET quoted Apple as saying its design direction is no longer in keeping with the requirements of EPEAT. It quoted a Wall Street Journal article noting 39 of Apple's products had received EPEAT's green stamp of approval, including its MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air laptops. CNET said Apple's products appeared to "disagree" with EPEAT's requirement that electronics must be easy to disassemble, so their components can be recycled. It said the iPhone, the iPad, and the new MacBook Pro with high-resolution Retina display have batteries and glass displays glued to casings and backings. But CNET quoted CIO Journal as saying Apple may soon introduce an alternate green standard for its products. CNET noted EPEAT receives funding from the Environmental Protection Agency. It also noted the US government requires that 95 percent of its electronics bear the EPEAT seal of approval. — LBG, GMA News