Apple Improves Their Environmental Record

Fortune notes that in Greenpeace’s latest Guide to Green Electronics Apple ranked forth among its consumer electronics peers by environmental criteria. HP, Dell, and Nokia lead the way respectfully. What’s significant is that Apple has moved up five spots in last years report.

The Greenpeace report reviews three categories: energy, greener products, and sustainable operations. It praises Apple for its global recycling program, its sourcing of conflict minerals, the removal of PVC vinyl plastic and brominated flame retardants from its products, and for meeting or exceeding Energy Star requirements.

The company loses points for not setting targets to reduce emissions, and for not mentioning plans to phase out antimony or beryllium. Greenpeace also requests that Apple’s greenhouse gas emissions be verified by an external source.

In recent years, Apple has taken its carbon footprint seriously. For instance, in May 2007 Steve Jobs issued an open letter that outlined Apple’s timetable for eliminating toxic chemicals from the company’s products. And at product launches they’ll often mention the reduced of their packaging that not only reduces materials and waste, but also helps reduce the emissions produced during transportation. To documentes their environmental progress and footprint Apple has set-up a dedicated webpage.

A notable omission from the report is mention of the solar farm that Apple has started construction on for its new North Carolina data center.