1. How green is Apple?
“A critical evaluation of Apple’s
environmental corporate policy
approach and the way it is
communicated”

2. 1. Company Profile
2. Effects of Corporate Environmental Policy
3. Corporate Environmental Strategy Framework
4. Group Task
5. Target Audience
6. Key Events in Apple’s Path Towards Sustainability
7. Current Corporate Environmental Policy Approach
8. Corporate Communication
9. Criticism
10. Moving Forward
11. Conclusion

3. Apple Inc. is a world renowned multinational electronics
manufacturer; on a national and international level this organisation
is large, powerful and highly visible.
Apple, was named by Forbes
Magazine as the most
admired company in 2008
#1 world’s most powerful brand (Bortree 2009)
#1 most valuable brand
#1 in market value
#2 in profit
#26 most innovative company
#26 in sales

4. Reasons to adopt a corporate environmental policy:
• Effective environmental management can reduce operating expenses (Yakhou and
Dorweiler 2004), allow firms to make better use of resources (King and Lenox
2001), and stimulate innovation in production technology (McDonough and
Braungart 2002).
• Firms can successfully leverage superior environmental management for
competitive advantage (Cerin 2002) and develop new market niches through green
marketing (Kiernan 2001).
• Improved environmental governance practices are viewed as a way to stave off
both public protest and regulatory intervention (Reinhardt 1999)

5. What elements influence how a firm approaches the development of
environmental management initiatives and what can strategists do to influence
these elements?
1. Macro Layer
2. Secondary Stakeholder Layer
3. Industry Layer
4. Firm Layer
5. Functional Layer

6. Macro forces are the broadest forces that influence how firms approach
environmental governance (Grant 2005)
• Economic factors
• Social factors
• Technological factors
• Political factors

7. Political forces can have a significant direct influence on corporate environmental governance
strategy (Kolk 1999)
International environmental treaties:
• The Montreal Protocol (1989) which regulates ozone emissions
• ISO 14000 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help
organizations minimize how their operations negatively affect the environment, comply with
the law and improve their performance
• The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and
Their Disposal (1992)
Domestic environmental legislation and environmental regulatory policy:
• EPA Land and Cleanup regulations

8. A significant amount of research has emerged over the past decade in support of Stakeholder
Theory which postulates that firms must balance strategic objectives to ensure that a broad
spectrum of stakeholders’ expectations is adequately satisfied (Rowley 1997). Responses from
dissatisfied secondary stakeholders pose significant threats to firms (Khanna 2005)
• Creditors
• Government regulations
• Union pressure
• Interest group pressure
• General public

9. Interest group pressure
• Increasingly, environmental organizations and local environmental groups
are exposing poor environmental practice at both firm and industry levels
(Carter 2001).
• The repercussions for firms that neglect this threat can be financially
damaging
• Apple has been targeted by environmental groups such as Greenpeace &
Friends of the Earth
– “Cool IT”
– “Greener electronics”
– “Clean our Cloud”
– “Make it better”

10. General public
• Public expectations regarding corporate environmental governance have increased
significantly (Deegan 2002). To defend societal interests, concerned individuals and
community groups are increasingly involved in monitoring corporate behavior (Cormier and
Magnan 2003)
• 95% of EU citizens feel that protecting the environment is important to them personally (-1
point compared to 2007). 58% consider it to be very important (Eurobarometer 2011)
• 92% of MNCs from Europe changed their products to address growing concerns of
environmental pollution (Vandermerwe and Oliff 1990)
• (93%) of the 766 participant CEOs from all over the world, declared sustainability as an
“important” or “very important” factor for their organizations’ future success.

11. In 1980, Michael Porter, an authority on corporate strategy introduced his Five Forces framework
which demonstrated how forces impacting a firm’s industry influence the attractiveness of the
industry and define the parameters within which firms in the industry must operate if they are to
succeed in the long run (Porter 1980)
• Type of industry
• Competitive practices
• Media exposure
• Customer (buyer) pressure
• Supplier (vendor incentives)

12. Media exposure
• Research indicates that industries which are exposed to a greater level of media scrutiny are
apt to expend greater efforts to publicly disclose environmental governance practices (Adams
2004)
• Firms in high-profile industries must take extra care to ensure environmental management
programs are developed in a comprehensive manner in order to avoid environmental
mishaps that could lead to adverse (Valentine 2009)
• Apple receives the most press in the mainstream media, representing 15.1 percent of all
technology stories in the news (Marsal 2010)
• Media coverage of Apple found to be overwhelmingly positive
• Of the stories analyzed, 42% described Apple as "innovative and superior“ (Marsal 2010)

13. Customer (buyer) pressure
• In industries where customer pressure to adopt improved environmental practices is
high, firms are more likely to adopt more comprehensive environmental strategies to avoid
adversely affecting the customer base (Wilmshurst and Frost 2000)
• Consumer awareness of environmental inequities drives sustainable business practices
(Young 2010)
• Euromonitor International’s Annual Survey confirmed that over half of respondents globally
considered the factors “fair-trade”, “green/environmentally-friendly” and “sustainably
produced” to be important when considering a purchase.

14. Firm-specific forces can be defined as influences on corporate environmental governance that
arise as a result of the unique structure of a given firm (Deegan 2002)
• Ownership characteristics
• Firm size
• Financial health
• Age assets
• Environmental reputation

15. Environmental Reputation
• Cerin (2002) and Patten (1992) have shown that in response to publicised environmental
problems, negligent firms have a propensity to adopt stricter reporting standards.
Furthermore, Deegan et al. (2000) have shown that publicised environmental mishaps
from one firm tend to influence the reporting styles of other firms within the industry.
• Yahoo and Google data centres drove the industry in terms of renewable energy powered
facilities
• On the back of those, Apple announced that its north Carolina data centre will be
powered entirely by renewable energy by the end of 2012

16. Activities that firms undertake in the environmental governance sphere which directly impact a
firm’s market valuation, revenue prospects or cost performance in either the short or long term
are all found in the functional layer (Deegan 2002)
• Financial strategies
• Brand protection strategies
• Cost-control strategies
• Quality strategy
• Green position strategies

17. Apple’s Environmental Timeline
Apple Products Introduced?

19. Governments Regulators Employees
Customers General public Pressure groups
Investors Suppliers Media
Distributors Competitors Local communities
NGOs

20. • Apple commits to phase out the use of bromine (Br) and chlorine (Cl)
in its products with the intent to minimize impact on the environment
and human health during manufacturing, use, and disposal in
accordance with the RoHs Directive
• Apple moves beyond RoHS compliance by restricting additional
bromine and chlorine based compounds in consumer electronic
products
• Samsung, Nokia, Sony & LG commit to eliminate the use of hazardous
chemicals
• Sony Ericsson takes on the complicated task of establishing full
chemical inventories for all their product lines

21. “Apple is in many cases ahead of, or will soon be ahead of, most of its
competitors in these areas. Whatever other improvements we need to make,
it is certainly clear that we have failed to communicate the things that we are
doing well” (Jobs 2007)
“Secrecy at Apple is not just the prevailing communications strategy; it is
baked into the corporate culture” (The New York Times 2012)

22. • Partially in response to Greenpeace’s “Guide to Greener Electronics”, Apple
devised and publicly announced its environmental policy “A Greener Apple”
• The environmental policy was clearly stated and provided consumers with a
progress chart
• Apple stated that they were doing more in terms of being environmentally
responsible
• "We were always green but we just weren't sharing it“ (Deeran 2008)

23. • “Apple have found themselves in the position of being forced to adopt
change because their customer base demanded it” (Herron 2010, p.69)
• “Today is the first time we have openly discussed our plans to become a
greener Apple. It will not be the last” (Apple 2007)
• “We apologize for leaving you in the dark for this long” (Apple 2007)
• “Apple is already a leader in innovation and engineering and we are applying
the same talents to become an environmental leader” (Apple 2007)

24. Apple joined US Chamber of Commerce exodus over climate change scepticism (Guardian 2009)
The chamber is against the idea that the EPA should use its authority under the Clean Air Act to
regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
“We strongly object to the chamber's recent comments opposing the EPA's effort to limit
greenhouse gases” (Novelli 2009)
It can be argued that the move was partially
driven by the public interest in the Copenhagen
Climate Change Conference

25. Environment Evaluation on environment friendliness of Apple’s services is not easy, since
The Company does not actually manufacture the products. The true manufacturers are
mostly located in developing countries, where environmental regulations are lax and
frequently get Violated (Bertolucci 2009)
Apple documents detailed reports of its environmental progress and energy efficiency
designs on official website. A comprehensive analysis of green-gas-emissions is also
available, covering the complete products’ lifecycles from manufacturing to retail facilities
Scant information can be found on e-waste recycling operation after collecting these
wastes from consumers
Little is known on energy consumption of data computing supporting the iTunes platform

26. Young (2010))

27. • Manufacturing accounts for 61% of Apple’s total greenhouse gas emission
• Apple products are designed to be more powerful and require less material to
produce, generating fewer emissions
– The iPad became 33% thinner and 15% lighter in one generation
– 5% less carbon emissions were generated as a result
• Apple products are free of Lead, PVC, BFR, Aresenic and Mercury
• Apple uses recycled plastics, recycled paper, biopolymers, and vegetable-based
inks
– iTunes gift cards are made from 100% recycled paper
• Supplier Code of Conduct and Supplier Audit Codes are published online

28. • 5% of Apple’s greenhouse gas emissions are a result of transporting our products
from assembly locations to distribution hubs in regions where our products
are sold
• Packaging is designed to be “efficient” – slim, light and protective
– packaging for iPhone 4 is 42 percent smaller than for the original iPhone shipped in 2007

29. • The use of Apple products generates 30% of Apple’s total greenhouse
gas emissions
• Products are designed to be as energy efficient as possible
- The Mac Mini takes one fifth of the power consumer by a single 13-watt CFL
lightbulb, making it the most energy efficient desktop computer in the world
• Apple is the only company to date who has all of its products
certified by ENERGY STAR

30. • 2% of Apple’s total greenhouse gas emissions are related to recycling
• Materials used by Apple including arsenic, aluminium, and polycarbonate are
reclaimed by recyclers for use in new products
• Mac Book Pro built in battery has increased lifespan of 3x the average laptop
• Apple houses its own recycling programme
– In 2010 and 2011, Apple achieve a worldwide recycling rate of over 70%
– The last reported numbers from Dell and HP were each lower than 20%

31. • Apple’s corporate offices, distribution hubs, data centers, and retail stores
account for 2% of the Company’s total greenhouse gas emissions
• Apple provide a Commute Alternatives programme for all employees
- More than 1,100 Apple employees go to work each day on free biodiesel
commuter coaches
• Apple reduces energy use in their facilities by utilizing renewable energy —
eliminating 30,000 metric tons of CO2e emissions in Austin, Texas;
Sacramento, California; Munich, Germany; and Cork, Ireland
• Apple Data Centre in North Carolina

32. • Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
– Acts as an indirect method of communication
• Facilities Report
• Investor Report
• Supplier Responsibility Progress Report
• Environmental Progress Chart
• Relationships with selected media
• Green adverts since 2008

33. • The Company is criticized for not giving timelines for further phasing-out other
hazardous substances such as DEHP and phthalates, which leads to an unfavorable
overall Greener Electronics Ranking position
• The planned obsolescence, or the designed disposability, may be the key problem of
Apple’s green strategy
• Apple adopts the cradle-to-grave way of consumption, with no innovative
considerations on creating a reusable product line or creating a green manufacturing
chain
• Lack of stakeholder engagement strategy (Harvard Business Review 2012)
• Lack of triple bottom line thinking – People, Planet, Profit (Eurocert 2012)
• Low level of overall transparency (CNN 2012)

34. “We are all living during a time when people want and expect their
leaders to be more human, less perfect and at times a bit
vulnerable – regardless of hierarchy or rank” (Forbes 2012)
• More transparency
– Increased credibility, trust and strengthened brand image
• Apple to pioneer a unified standard for environmental reporting
• Interaction with consumers e.g. Dell’s IdeaStorm

35. • Apple overview
• The importance of a corporate environmental policy
• Application of a corporate environmental strategy framework
• Apple’s relationship with the media
• Key events
– 2004: Bromine and Chlorine
– 2007: A Greener Apple
– 2009: Withdrawal from the U.S. Chambers of Commerce
• Current corporate environmental approach
• Corporate communication
• Criticism
• Recommendations

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