A Chinese analysis firm accuses Apple of greenwashing.
Of that reported now the website Inside Climate News. According to her, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) in Beijing has raised doubts about Apple’s information policy for the production of the new Apple Watch.
Not enough transparency?
Apple is not transparent enough to analysts when it comes to the exact manufacturing requirements of its suppliers. Therefore, the statement should be viewed with caution as it could potentially be exaggerated.
Apple has been working with the IPE for some time and describes it as a “leading NGO” in its own transparency report. The fact that criticism is now coming from such a partner makes the whole thing a little more explosive.
In detail, the IPE accuses Apple of having reinterpreted and shifted certificates in such a way that the watches are considered climate-neutral. At the same time, the iPhone is still manufactured using many climate-damaging materials and production methods.
Apple is fighting back
Apple issued a statement emphasizing that it had not moved certificates from the iPhone to the production of other devices. Nevertheless, the director of the IPE, Ma Jun, criticizes Apple drastically:
In many years of our index evaluation, Apple has been one of the top performers and we have given the company credit for this. But when it started making the claim of a carbon neutral product, that’s a very high standard and I think it needs an even higher level of disclosure.
It will be exciting to see whether Apple will comply with this demand in the future.
