A New reportThe efforts of major corporations, such as Apple, to reduce their impact on the environment have prompted them to make greater substantive progress. The New Climate Institute was not convinced by all of Cupertino’s statements on tackling climate change. It gave the company an overall “Moderate Integrity” rating, alongside Sony and Vodafone. Only Maersk score higher, earning a “Reasonable Integrity Rating.”
Apple Receives ‘Moderate’ Environmental Rating
Apple has committed to carbon neutrality in its entire business by 2030, according to the report. The report concluded that Apple was a good example of carbon neutrality.
Apples emission reduction plans are quite comprehensive and have already led to a significant decline in emissions in recent decades. However, we didn’t find far reaching solutions for downstream emissions of scope 3.
Scope three emissions result from activities that are not controlled by a company. These include the processing of products that are sold, their use and the end of life treatment.
On more direct forms of emissions, the report found that “it would be more constructive [for Apple] to report location-based emissions, which show that there is still room for energy efficiency improvements to reduce the climate impact of Apples electricity use.”
Disappointment at Corporate Claims
Thomas Day, the study’s lead author, explained:
We set out in an effort to uncover as many replicateable good practices as we could, but were honestly surprised and disappointed by how honest the claims of the companies. As companies are under increasing pressure to act on climate change, their bold-sounding headline claims often lack substance. This can lead to misinformation for both consumers and regulators who are crucial to their strategic direction. Even companies doing well exaggerate what they do.
As BBC News Not notedSeveral of the companies surveyed raised concerns about the method.