iPhone Assembler Foxconn and Other Suppliers Pledge to Use 100% Renewable Energy for Apple Production

[DaveRivera]

This!!!
And if Apple were really concerned with the planet they wouldn't use glue on their most popular computers.
How does making a computer that gets throw into the dump because it can't be upgraded or fixed make you a green company?
[doublepost=1555000019][/doublepost]
The macs that are 5 years and older are more upgradeable.
Apple glueing their macs together is a punishment now and later.

It doesn't just "go into the dump". If you let apple, or other third parties recycle them, they are able to recycle quite a bit from them for reuse in new products. If you are throwing your devices away without getting them recycled, then that makes you the problem.

 

[mi7chy]

Clever feel good marketing guise for the average Joes to lap up when Apple still purposely designs its products with forced obsolescence. To start, how about not skimping on DRAM and unbundle Safari browser from iOS updates so it can be updated through app store so Apple devices don't prematurely end up in landfills?

 

[fourthtunz]

It doesn't just "go into the dump". If you let apple, or other third parties recycle them, they are able to recycle quite a bit from them for reuse in new products. If you are throwing your devices away without getting them recycled, then that makes you the problem.

I'm not saying I would just dump them but Im sure some do just go into the trash.
if someone could upgrade the ram and HD more people would keep them longer, much
like I have with my 2011 and 2012 MBP.
This is Apple giving the middle finger to their customers, by glueing their new macs together.
I have been buying more apple stuff for longer than most and will continue to do so but
glueing their stuff together is punitive to their customers.
I am ok with you not seeing it that way.

 

[KGBguy]

Renewable Energy BS, Global warming BS, Go green BS but they still all come to us for our Oil, can't live without it! That's a fact!

 

[NickName99]

The lack of upgradability on Macs only hurts their resale value in the long run, not how many end up in landfills. If your Mac is so ancient that you can’t even sell it for $20 on Craigslist, it won’t matter whether or not you can upgrade it, it will still be worthless.

 

[Tivoli_]

I would care about this news if it will reduce the price I have to pay for their phones and gadgets, otherwise don't waste my time!

 

[cb3]

Please work go getting your prices down too. Love the environment! But if this raises prices, I'm not buying.

 

[TobyR]

It seems this can go one of two ways …

1) They do it for real and build new facilities that produce the power …

-or-

2) They procure it from existing sources by paying a premium. All they do is use 'renewable' power that was already in use. There is no actual offset … someone else is just no longer using renewable.

1) is doing the right thing, 2) is sleight of hand and spending money to justify a perception.

 

[CE3]

Good news. Now make your products more renewable and user-repairable, too.

 

[mikethemartian]

It doesn't just "go into the dump". If you let apple, or other third parties recycle them, they are able to recycle quite a bit from them for reuse in new products. If you are throwing your devices away without getting them recycled, then that makes you the problem.

Recycling expends resources and energy. In cases like aluminum it makes sense to do it because it requires less energy to recycle aluminum than to mine and process it, but that isn’t the same for all materials.

 

[Jakewilk]

How can people be duped so easily by tech companies that wave the green flag is beyond me especially tech companies who whole business model is to get you to throw away a perfectly good device every year or two. Electronic devices, especially smartphones, consume a lot of resource during manufacturing including minerals that are environmentally taxing ie lithium.

Especially said companies that fight right to repair laws for simple things like a battery replacement.

Furthermore, their customers are largely high income folks and just about EVERY environmental survey will show that high income folks have the HIGHEST carbon footprints.

Come on folks...wake up!

Did you never wonder why they started raising product prices? They realized they could make the same profit (or probably more) and produce less waste at the same time. That’s why they stopped reporting iphone sales numbers, because they were purposefully shifting focus to a business model based on selling less products.

I guarantee they they will brag about this in a year or so when the numbers start rolling in.

But hey, you keep on complaining about them trying to lessen their environmental footprint. Apple is very unique in that it is environmentally conscious, both for a business and for a tech company. Everyone knows going this all in on green initiatives is not profitable; they don’t save any money by their suppliers running on green energy.

Well, everyone except you knows I guess. Clearly you think this is just an elaborate, indirect ad campaign? I suppose you’d rather they stop selling things altogether? Would that be green enough for you?
[doublepost=1555007706][/doublepost]

What creates more electronic waste? Someone replacing a couple RAM sticks and throwing out the old one? Or someone buying a whole new computer and throwing out the old one

What difference does it make if you end up replacing every component once over the period of time that you would own two non-modular computers?

I would argue that whole computers tend to get recycled A LOT more often than individual replaceable parts. No one in their right mind puts a whole computer in the trash when they could resell it or recycle it with someone who is willing to pay. Sadly no one is going to buy your fried ram though so it’s going straight into the trash as soon as you pull it out.

My brother worked at a computer repair shop and he said they literally threw the replaced screens and batteries in the trash.

Repairability is the illusion of environmentally friendly tech, it only works in theory.
[doublepost=1555008295][/doublepost]

First you have to define renewable. Coal and oil are renewable if you wait long enough. Then define 100%. "Well, no, we don't count the emissions from the cars our employees drive to work." Etc. Not saying this announcement is a bad thing, or an outright lie, but the devil is in the details, and all simple statements can have much more complex issues behind them that need to be considered before passing judgment.

Renewable has been defined and it excludes coal and oil. Apple’s announcement isn't that it’s existence is powered by 100%, but that it’s offices, retail, and now many suppliers are. You’d probably be surprised to know that apple’s complete environmental impact report takes into account commuting to work and even energy used to charge 1.3 billion apple devices world wide
[doublepost=1555009086][/doublepost]

The term “renewable energy” is a misnomer. Once the energy is spent and generates heat it is not recovered.

Well, that’s why they didn’t call it “recyclable” or “reusable” energy

 

[alexnyc8]

The whole renewable energy this is PR stunt for the gullible. There is not nearly enough renewable energy to sustain current global requirements and it will take a breakthrough for this to change. Until now, leave it to the bankers who invented carbon credit trading, lol.

 

[goobot]

The whole renewable energy this is PR stunt for the gullible. There is not nearly enough renewable energy to sustain current global requirements and it will take a breakthrough for this to change. Until now, leave it to the bankers who invented carbon credit trading, lol.

You have to start somewhere. To say that is basically saying to never try at doing absolutely anything.

 

[rafark]

I hate to be negative about it, but I find this like 80% marketing and 20% real action. Apple only really cares about having an image of being "safe" and "environmental friendly", clean, etc. it's for their business and we all know how genius apple is when it comes to marketing.

 

[ocnitsa]

Sadly no one is going to buy your fried ram though so it’s going straight into the trash as soon as you pull it out.

If you have enough of it you can sell it on eBay to people who salvage gold from it. I sold a ziplock baggie of old/fried RAM on there once.

 

[Marekul]

It doesn't just "go into the dump". If you let apple, or other third parties recycle them, they are able to recycle quite a bit from them for reuse in new products. If you are throwing your devices away without getting them recycled, then that makes you the problem.

I don’t think the calculation looks good for apple when you factor in cost for recycling vs what could have been a repair or upgrade like with pre 2015 machines.

Really if you only offer computers with unnecessarily glued and soldered parts, Aluminium, rare earths, batteries....you should be quiet about environmental friendliness.

 

[tridley68]

Each Foxxcon employee is required to eat 6 pounds of beans s day to help produce this renewable energy

 

[Tech198]

Each Foxxcon employee is required to eat 6 pounds of beans s day to help produce this renewable energy

Every little bit helps.

 

[ChrisA]

Strangely, yours and the post below yours are both correct.
I'm not sure I believe that part about all their retail outlets being on renewable energy though. I've been working at the power side of some large shopping villages and the schematics would appear to suggest that the Apple store is fed from the same supply as the others.

I don't know about other places but here in So. California even though I am using the same utility pole transformer as the guy next door we can each use power from different providers. Yes, it gets mixed up but I can buy 100% renewable power and he can go with 50% renewable.

The power provider adds up al the customers who opt for 100% and all those who opt for 50% and adds up the total then they buy power from generating stations based on their customer opinions. Yes we all get the same blend but my option does have a direct influence of what generating stations are used to power the grid.

Over time the option to buy only 50% will be removed. Already here in CA about 50% of the electric power is from renewables. It varies by the time of day as obviously there is less (but not zero) solar available at night.

So,.... even if you are a store in a shopping mall you can claim to be using a different mix of renewable then the stop next door. At least in some places that allow this kind of accounting

 

[PickUrPoison]

I don’t think the calculation looks good for apple when you factor in cost for recycling vs what could have been a repair or upgrade like with pre 2015 machines.

Really if you only offer computers with unnecessarily glued and soldered parts, Aluminium, rare earths, batteries....you should be quiet about environmental friendliness.

Actually the equation looks quite good for Apple. The fact is, their computers have a long average life, and because they are relatively expensive, they’re much more likely to be resold if functional, or repaired (or sold for parts). Those $300 Windows laptops that fry out every year or two probably do go into the trash, all too often, since they have little to no value if they’re not working since they’re not worth fixing.

Apple sells 200+ million iPhones a year, and none are upgradeable and all are assembled with soldered parts and glue. If someone outgrows their phone and needs a new one, they will usually sell or maybe trade in their old device, not throw it away. Just as with Macs, they have plenty of value second hand.

If Macs or iPhones need a new battery, they can be replaced by Apple or some other service provider. Apple charges up to $199 for a laptop battery replacement, but then it will last 2-4 years before needing to be replaced again.

It’s just a fact of life that computers have a certain useful life, no matter how modular or upgradeable they are. I think you’ll find that Macs/iPhones have a longer average useful life than PCs/Android. If past their useful life, the best that can be done is to recycle the device, and Apple does that better than any similar manufacturer that I’m aware of.

 

[theloon]

Suicides continue at Foxconn's - so I guess they count the workforce as a 'renewable' resource also ?

Apple clearly has enough cash to stop using Foxconn, a pile of over 210 billion in cash and counting.

Adding in other comments from folks already made about how Apple repairability is moving to zero... and you get 'Green' in marketing bu**sh*t only.

 

[H2SO4]

Actually the equation looks quite good for Apple. The fact is, their computers have a long average life, and because they are relatively expensive, they’re much more likely to be resold if functional, or repaired (or sold for parts). Those $300 Windows laptops that fry out every year or too probably do go into the trash, all too often, since they have little to no value if they’re not working, since they’re not worth fixing.

Apple sells 200+ million iPhones a year, and none are upgradeable and all are assembled with soldered parts and glue. If someone outgrows their phone and needs a new one, they will usually sell or maybe trade in their old device, not throw it away. Just as with Macs, they have plenty of value second hand.

If Macs or iPhones need a new battery, they can be replaced by Apple or some other service provider. Apple charges up to $199 for a laptop battery replacement, but then it will last 2-4 years before needing to be replaced again.

It’s just a fact of life that computers have a certain useful life, no matter how modular or upgradeable they are. I think you’ll find that Macs/iPhones have a longer average useful life than PCs/Android. If past their useful life, the best that can be done is to recycle the device, and Apple does that better than any similar manufacturer that I’m aware of.

That comparison doesn’t work at all. As a Mac user I’m dead sure my computing has cost me more over the years than a more powerful PC would have. The difference is I much prefer the OS.
In fact. I remember buying my first PowerMac G4 back in early 2000s and it was like £1600. Pretty sure I could have bought 4 ‘cheap’ PCs that if used sequentially would definitely outlasted the Mac.
Even one I’m pretty sure will be on a par.
Computer hardware has a certain useful life yes but to infer that Macs last longer than PCs or vice versa is ludicrous.
“Fry out every year”, that is a joke. When my $300 PC frys out I can buy another for the same or buy a drive for example from anywhere that will likely just plug in and work. Know what, if I so choose I can very likeky take my old hardware and use it in the new.
Can’t do that with a Mac so easily.

 

[Guitar_Trance]

A good thing, no doubt!

Whatever!

Pandering to anyone over anything, especially when it's a politicized, opinion-only issue to begin with, is not a "good thing". Let's ALL join "The Collective" and cease individual thought. Let's mentally, verbally and yes, even scientifically neuter ourselves with "Group Think" in the name of unnecessary knee-jerk reaction not even aimed at a real problem, but one used as a means to frighten and verbally bully people into submission to the loudest mouths in societies aimed at a one-world ideological perspective.
[doublepost=1555067650][/doublepost]

So nothing to do with Apple, right?

LMAO! Yeah... Apple has absolutely no [bs] "carbon footprint" whatsoever, huh? I say "bs" because that entire issue is complete bs to begin with. It's very frightening how duped people are becoming as time goes on. Those with serious political motives who claim to have "enlightened world views" are fast becoming the fascists of our time. Even the originator of Greenpeace said he left his own movement because it's no longer a movement of environmental soundness... but rather a movement of world socialism using a "clean planet" as a cover for their real agenda(s). Apple and other tech companies are some of the biggest hypocrites that ever lived.

Another example of their type of hypocrisy would be Bernie Sanders running around for years claiming nobleness for "near-poverty", slandering and bullying wealthy people, claiming moral superiority, and we find out Bernie is a multi-millionaire who gives very little, if any, to ANY charity at all, and who has never, that is EVER, had ANY real jobs in his entire life. On top of that claims to LOVE America yet complains about it all of his waking hours, and spent his wedding (and other assorted occasions) in the Soviet Union at a time when US citizens were not allowed in the Soviet Union. The ONLY citizens of both nations that were allowed visitation were ex-soviet citizens who wanted asylum in the US, and US citizens who denounced their citizenship to the US in order to please the Kremlin and gain entrance as potential anti-American marxists.

My point? Hypocrites, all of them! Doesn't matter the issue. They all make an effort to "appear" to be what they claim so everyone else will fall in line or side with them, yet they live largely in stark opposition to how they claim to live, and are only minor appearances of what they claim to be.
[doublepost=1555070246][/doublepost]

That comparison doesn’t work at all. As a Mac user I’m dead sure my computing has cost me more over the years than a more powerful PC would have. The difference is I much prefer the OS.
In fact. I remember buying my first PowerMac G4 back in early 2000s and it was like £1600. Pretty sure I could have bought 4 ‘cheap’ PCs that if used sequentially would definitely outlasted the Mac.
Even one I’m pretty sure will be on a par.
Computer hardware has a certain useful life yes but to infer that Macs last longer than PCs or vice versa is ludicrous.
“Fry out every year”, that is a joke. When my $300 PC frys out I can buy another for the same or buy a drive for example from anywhere that will likely just plug in and work. Know what, if I so choose I can very likeky take my old hardware and use it in the new.
Can’t do that with a Mac so easily.

You are COMPLETELY correct, and we are in complete agreement on that issue. I use Macs for one reason... I LOVE the Mac OS, and Windows is not even pleasurable in comparison... even though I must use Windows in my work at times.

Apple charges exorbitant fees for everything, including memory. Even when paying their outrageous prices for processor upgrades it is now reported by some those processors are throttled by Apple because the fans are not adequate enough to keep the processors cool enough to run at full potential. So technically we cannot even pay Apple outrageous prices for upgrades because the upgrades are somewhat useless.

For what Apple charges for a high-end iMac I can and have built a PC with the same exact or near-exact specs for a little over half of what Apple charges... and yes, that includes a very nice display. On top of that, I can continually upgrade all of those components for years to come if I choose my parts wisely when building the PC.

Now with Apple seemingly going the proprietary route with future systems: soldering procs to motherboards, soldering hard drives to motherboards, and not allowing users to upgrade their own memory, I am sadly yet seriously considering going back to full-time PC usage. If nothing else it is definitely more economically-feasible. On top of that Apple may isolate themselves even further in the future by dropping Intel or other x86-based processors in exchange for notebook/iPad-capable ONLY Apple-branded processors, and if so, then you're losing me... FAST! Apple almost put themselves out of business before Jobs' return by isolating themselves with proprietary systems. I can't go back to those days... I believe it to be foolish to begin with!

Apple builds adequate-to-good systems with style, for sure... but it comes with a near-hefty price in comparison to what the rest of the computing world pays for "progress". On top of that, we have to contend with political /societal issues spouted by Apple that have absolutely NOTHING to do with producing and selling great items to consumers and professionals alike. Another example besides this "I'm soooo Green... please pat me and call me "special"" issue Apple mouths all of the time? Who cares who or what Tim Cook sleeps with? I could care less about his or anyone else's sexual preferences and issues related to such. That is NOT what I pay Apple for!

So yes... you are exactly correct in my estimation, and in my experience.

 

[Guitar_Trance]

It doesn't just "go into the dump". If you let apple, or other third parties recycle them, they are able to recycle quite a bit from them for reuse in new products. If you are throwing your devices away without getting them recycled, then that makes you the problem.

Doesn't make anyone "the problem" because there is NO problem to begin with... period! Of course, if one enjoys becoming a part of the sheep fold in order to follow their shepherds who's real agendas have absolutely nothing to do with their spoken agendas, then have at it... Mr. Green Clean!

 

[FairlyKors]

Wait a while until some members come on here and definitely make this into a 100% negative news...

Apple & it's products are not perfect, but there is a lot to be admired about this company.....

LOL It only took one comment...

Reflexive, unthoughtful cynicism is the engine driving most of what no one can stand in today’s cultural climate. The “Wake up sheeple!” type alarmists never, ever do anything more than alarm. It’s caustic and unnecessary and definitely not the least bit useful.

With this, for instance, do you see any huge Chinese or Korean cell phone makers (who engage in the same profit motivated churn-n-burn sales techniques) waving anything green? Or even pretending? What Apple is doing is more than talk (which is what I would consider “waving a green flag) they are *doing* measurable things about real problems that exist, and they’re educating other and setting an example by actually *doing* not just talking.

I have plenty of respect for what Apple has done and is doing with regard to the environment—even while aware of other realities that coexist.
[doublepost=1555076759][/doublepost]

I really don't get your "all-or-nothing" type of attitude on this topic. We can applaud Apple for the things they do well for the environment while still criticizing and calling them out for areas where they could do better. And the matter of fact is, in certain areas they currently do significantly more than most if not any other big tech company; they put a lot more effort and money in than they had to or than anyone forces them to do. In other areas, not so much, I don't disagree about that. But should we not acknowledge the things they do well and that we want other companies to follow just as much as we condemn Apple in areas where they don't like the right-to-repair controversy that you mentioned?

This whole "it doesn't matter how much good you do for the environment, as long as you still do this unrelated bad thing x" attitude is exactly one of the reasons why some people stop caring about the environment altogether. If they are wrong for appreciating literally anything that helps preserve the environment, then why bother at all? If people who start doing incremental steps toward helping and preserving the environment are immediately met with a "you don't truly care about the environment unless you never buy a tech product again" type-of gatekeepers who try to tear apart all their effort, then they'll just lose interest in doing anything at all for it.

Besides, if you're throwing Apple products in the trash and always buy the newest iPhone each single year, then that's much more your own decision than Apple's. They are doing a lot more to make their phones last longer than the competition. The iPhone 5s turns 6 years old this year and it's still a decent, very functional device that receives all the newest software updates to this day; chances are that any iPhones sold today can last you even longer than 6 years if they need to. Compare that to most Android phones that receive software updates for a year or two and that's it, they are swiftly ignored and forgotten by the manufacturer. Not to mention Apple's excellent recycling programs if you do decide to "throw away" the phone in the end, or their resale values that usually hold up well compared to competitors and incentivize you to resell the phone or Mac as opposed to throwing it in the trash, etc.etc.

I'm all for pointing out Apple's shortcomings in environmental areas, but we should also give them credit where credit is due, and there are currently many areas where Apple currently goes the extra mile that other manufacturers don't even seem to think of. The whole "everything they do is automatically bad" and "no good deed matters" attitude that you seem to have towards this whole topic is equally dangerous than those who just ignore all of Apple's shortcomings and praise them for every disaster. Why not let users appreciate news like this without taunting them for not immediately responding with a list of completely unrelated topics in which Apple's environmental efforts could be better?

Very well said.