M4 Mac Mini is Apple's First Carbon Neutral Mac

[needsomecoffee]

"...carbon credits..." "...Restore Fund..." These approaches have -- through very serious studies -- been shown to be ineffective -- nothing more than gaslighting and monetary distributions to orgs with "Mother Earth" agendas. When Apple releases its OPTIONAL version of the current Fairphone with easily replaced/upgraded components let me and Mother Earth know. Till then we have "...carbon credits...' and "...the Restorve Fund..." and Greenlighting via Apple PR. As noted in comments above, it is absurd to suggest this highly mfg'ed device could be carbon neutral.

 

[neliason]

I like using recycled material. I like not using plastic. I find any discussion of carbon neutrality ridiculous. In the grand scheme, the material Apple used is meaningless compared to a typical persons everyday use of plastics. I don't like that Apple's environmental efforts lead to ridiculous things like their terrible fake leather.

 

[gamerdude]

excellent discussion about Carbon credits.

TL;DW Carbon Credits are not that helpful.

 

[cicalinarrot]

if you think about it, the exterior design is basically a tweak from original Mac mini's design from 2005

Yeah, I was kinda generous with that.

 

[ScooterComputer]

this kind of marketing nonsense makes me angry. as a long time apple user why don't they actually do something for the environment like stop force obsoleting perfectly good equipment.

for example, i have a 1st gen ipad pro which i spent a ton on and it is still very fast in almost everything. At this point it is mostly used for just web browsing. it has tons more power than needed for this, but apple locks safari to the OS for no reason other than to screw over its customers. this means that since the device is stuck on ios 16, safari gets no updates and has an increasingly out of date webkit which fewer and fewer websites will work with. why? why put users at risk or create landfill with perfectly good equipment? i'm not even asking to update the entire OS, just stop locking basic apps to the OS.

help reduce e-waste and separate the browser from the os for crying out loud so it can be updated even if support of the device is stopped - you know like almost every other device out there! and backport this so the millions of devices out there can still be used for simple things (for which they have way than enough power to do)

instead we get things like no stickers, or whatever other nonsense the marketing department comes up with.

people have gotten used to treating computing devices as disposable items like a paper cup (and electronics do harm the environment, from mining, to water usage, e-waste disposal, toxic chemicals in manufacturing, etc). the idea of upgrade-ability to keep an item useful which used to be the norm is completely gone and apple sadly spearheaded this change (along with feature rationing).

This.

I'm glad that Apple is taking the steps they're taking, absolutely. I think it is just great engineering! But they cannot be permitted to continue to get up in front of all of us and tout their GREENINESS! while shipping an iMac with an entire display subsystem that effectively gets tossed in a landfill after 3 to 5 years when the accompanying CPU is determined—BY THEM—to no longer be adequate, nor can be upgraded with more RAM or storage according to the user's advancing needs, all while Mac users SCREAM for lower-priced display options, and refusing to re-engineer macOS to more adequately render at commodity PC 4K screen sizes/densities. (And same goes for not releasing a Long-Term Support OS for iPhones/iPads, or freeing the bootloaders to allow users to install Linux-based alternatives.)

We, the community who finances this behemoth, must put our collective foots down at some point and say "No more!"

 

[Naraxus]

Shouldn't this be in the politics section? I can see this degenerating real fast.

 

[turbineseaplane]

This.

I'm glad that Apple is taking the steps they're taking, absolutely. I think it is just great engineering! But they cannot be permitted to continue to get up in front of all of us and tout their GREENINESS! while shipping an iMac with an entire display subsystem that effectively gets tossed in a landfill after 3 to 5 years when the accompanying CPU is determined—BY THEM—to no longer be adequate, nor can be upgraded with more RAM or storage according to the user's advancing needs, all while Mac users SCREAM for lower-priced display options, and refusing to re-engineer macOS to more adequately render at commodity PC 4K screen sizes/densities. (And same goes for not releasing a Long-Term Support OS for iPhones/iPads, or freeing the bootloaders to allow users to install Linux-based alternatives.)

We, the community who finances this behemoth, must put our collective foots down at some point and say "No more!"

Bravo! All of this ^^

👏

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

does anyone actually care about this?

Yes, I do.

 

[MyOwnDrummer]

Rubbish! This was the one negative in my decision-making process, whether to buy this mini or not.

 

[Reason077]

I don't like that Apple's environmental efforts lead to ridiculous things like their terrible fake leather.

I’d be willing to try an Apple synthetic leather case. But they don’t actually make one as far as I can tell. Since FineWoven got dropped, they only have the silicone and hard-shell cases now days?

Still love my iPhone 13 leather case.

 

[JippaLippa]

Very nice.
Perhaps they'll really make the 2030 date.

 

[Reason077]

TL;DW Carbon Credits are not that helpful.

In fairness, carbon credits only make up a small portion of Apple’s carbon neutrality claim for this product. They claim to have reduced their own manufacturing emissions by more than 80%, which is no small feat.

 

[anthogag]

It is quite excellent the new mini is carbon neutral.

Apple could make components out of carbon. Maybe the next Ultra can have a case made from carbon.

 

[Numbah One]

does anyone actually care about this?

Carbon neutral, no. Not realistic and you get to a point of deminishing returns. Less pollution is better, though. Making Macs easier to repair/upgrade would reduce pollution more than buying a new machine periodically or worrying about that additional piece of plastic in the packaging.

 

[nickf]

does anyone actually care about this?

I do?

 

[mazz0]

Colour me extremely skeptical of this claim.

 

[Klagarde]

With the launch of the M4 Mac mini, Apple says it has reached a milestone in its overarching environmental goal of total carbon neutrality by 2030. The Mac mini is Apple's first carbon neutral Mac to date, and it joins the carbon neutral Series 10 Apple Watch models.

The Mac mini is made from more than 50 percent recycled content overall, including 100 percent recycled aluminum in its enclosure, 100 percent recycled gold plating in its circuit boards, and 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets.

Apple claims that the electricity that was used to manufacture the Mac mini is sourced from 100 percent renewable electricity, and the company says that its worldwide clean energy projects address 100 percent of the electricity that customers use to power their Mac mini devices.

Apple updated its shipping methods, and 50 percent of Mac mini computers by weight are shipped using non-air modes of transportation, like ocean freight, from the factory to their next destination. According to Apple, these changes have cut the carbon footprint of the Mac by more than 80 percent, and to make up the remaining emissions, Apple "applies high-quality carbon credits from nature based products" such as those from the Restore Fund. The Restore Fund uses funds from Apple and other companies to invest in carbon removal projects such as reforesting.

Mac mini packaging is fiber based, which Apple says brings it closer to its goal of eliminating plastic from packaging by 2025.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1851310432881164678

Back in 2020, Apple announced that it was committing to being 100 percent carbon neutral across its entire supply chain by 2030, with net zero climate impact for every Apple product sold. Apple plans to reduce emissions by 75 percent compared with 2015, while using carbon removal solutions for the remaining 25 percent of its carbon footprint.

Apple's global corporate operations are already carbon neutral, and Apple has been making changes as it works toward hitting its 2030 goal.

Article Link: M4 Mac Mini is Apple's First Carbon Neutral Mac

We all know that reforesting is bullsh*t. Even if these are from high quality credits. I highly support Apple and any company in its over towards carbon neutrality but that has not been reached yet here. Not even close.

 

[CausticSoda]

Lies! I cannot believe some people are suckered by this marketing nonsense from a company that does everything and anything to keep making us buy new stuff rather than upgrade existing kit etc.

 

[kingnimrod]

enough with this fake carbon scam

 

[picpicmac]

We would use even less carbon if we could internally upgrade the storage ourselves.

Quite the opposite.

Buying parts from (for example) Amazon is going to be far more consumptive.

 

[picpicmac]

does anyone actually care about this?

Probably you should.

Don't pretend you're going to escape the problems of climate change (unless you're planning on dying real soon.)

Apple is indeed not being wholly truthful, because this Mini is only "neutral" in the sense that "Carbon Neutral" is more of a brand than an actual statement of physics.

Still, simply by using much more recyclable material, and the fact the computer uses much less energy in operation, is a step in the right direction.

So I will give Apple kudos on that.

 

[picpicmac]

the idea of upgrade-ability to keep an item useful which used to be the norm is completely gone and apple sadly spearheaded this change (along with feature rationing).

That seems reasonable to some extent but in the big picture I doubt this "upgrade-ability" is really a positive difference.

The issue is the entire infrastructure needed to maintain the consumption-society.

Amazon or Best Buy having to inhabit huge warehouses/buildings, staffing them, and keeping those "upgrade-ability" parts on hand and then delivering them to your door, is all very, very much carbon emissive.

And of course "upgrade-ability" itself implies that you have ever escalating needs, which implies ever escalating consumption.

Apple's, and indeed the entire industry's, move to one-shot products (i.e., not internally upgradeable) may seem wasteful, the alternative you propose is not a solution to carbon neutrality.

 

[Kissmo1980]

I have a Mac mini 2011 - dying already as a plex server. Instant ordered the base model to replace my existing one.
Do I afford it? Barely.
But hey - for the next 5 years the price is decent for me,

 

[awshucks]

The world’s still going to end regardless of whether or not it’s carbon neutral

 

[Stiksi]

does anyone actually care about this?

In a couple decades everyone will care and it will be too late. But hey, have a nice future! As for Apple… kudos for using recycled material and cutting down on air freight, except it’s nuts that they use air freight at all. But buying ”carbon credits” is a complete hoax, no one should be commended for that. Support actual environmental projects directly, not these credit scams.