Apple now powered by 100% renewable energy

[Master Disaster]

Apple might be pumping more renewable energy back into the grid than they use, sure.

 

Meanwhile, as already pointed out they continue to pollute the planet through waste by forced obsolescence and hyped consumerism, they continue to employ child labour or labour that has poor living standards in third world nations and something that no one has mentioned yet is the environmental impact the mining of chemicals used in the manufacturing of batteries has on the planet.

 

Mining Lithium, Nickel, Lead & Cobolt is SUPER bad for the miners and the planet, not only do the processes release some really gnarly chemicals into the environment but the toxic nature of the elements means the miners very often get sick and die very young.

 

This is a publicity stunt, nothing more. I guarantee if Apples environmental ethics were put under any form of actual scrutiny they'd collapse, fast & hard.

[PocketNerd]

Apparently they're buying "Credits" that essentially act as stock to say they're going Green in Retail spaces...

Yeah... that whole "100% Retail" shtick is total bullshit. That said, grats on getting your Corporate Offices and Data Centers running on Renewables. Now could you stop saying stupid shit that isn't true, please?

[Master Disaster]

5 minutes ago, PocketNerd said:

Apparently they're buying "Credits" that essentially act as stock to say they're going Green in Retail spaces...

Yeah... that whole "100% Retail" shtick is total bullshit. That said, grats on getting your Corporate Offices and Data Centers running on Renewables. Now could you stop saying stupid shit that isn't true, please?

Unfortunately that's just how big business works, let's bend the truth as much as possible to display ourselves and our products in the best possible light.

 

In another thread yesterday I used the example of a car manufacturer claiming their latest diesel can do 90mpg, sure it can on a rolling road in a lab with no other variables at all but out in the real world you're doing good to hit 60.

 

Apple are only doing what big businesses do and they're far from the only ones doing it, Apple just like to take everything to the next level of bullshit.

[asus killer]

amazing news, kudos to Apple, still it is misleading as i bet transport and a lot of goes one prior to their actual manufacturing processes use tons of fossil fuels. But this in no any diminishes this awesome achievement.

A example to follow.

[PocketNerd]

5 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Unfortunately that's just how big business works, let's bend the truth as much as possible to display ourselves and our products in the best possible light.

I've been noticing this type of shit at work, too. Can't just brush it aside as "oh that's just how it works these days"

Gotta be the change you want to see in the world, you might not be able to change it in a big way but even a small way will make a hell of a difference.

[Sauron]

If it's true that's nice, but I find it hard to believe they got Foxconn to switch to renewable, and if they only mean their own facilities then this is a drop in the ocean. @DrMacintosh do you have any more specific information on that? If I go "green" and then subcontract most of my hardware production to a megacorp running on coal that kind of defeats the purpose.

 

Also, they can claim to be green as much as they want but their policies on out of warranty products is throw away and burn, not reuse, which means they straight up don't care about the environment outside of publicity stunts. Recycled materials only get you about 20% of the product back as opposed to 80%+ from repairing or repurposing it.

[Dabombinable]

2 hours ago, Master Disaster said:

Unfortunately that's just how big business works, let's bend the truth as much as possible to display ourselves and our products in the best possible light.

 

In another thread yesterday I used the example of a car manufacturer claiming their latest diesel can do 90mpg, sure it can on a rolling road in a lab with no other variables at all but out in the real world you're doing good to hit 60.

 

Apple are only doing what big businesses do and they're far from the only ones doing it, Apple just like to take everything to the next level of bullshit.

Another example: My Mum's Mazda 3 is supposed to be more fuel efficient than her old Kia Rio (the model before they cut the arse off), and yet its not.

[Sfekke]

If every company started watching their ecological footprint we'd be able to slow down climate change.

I'm not saying average Joe doesn't contribute to the problem, but in Belgium it sounds like it is only the average consumer.

They go ahead and make the taxes skyhigh, while big companies get a get out of jail free card if you catch'n my drift.

[Wolther]

The more companies that become 100% renewable, the more companies using fossil fuels will get flamed for not making a switch. Which is a very good thing

Atleast that’s what I predict

[Curufinwe_wins]

Through offsets.... and claimed renewable capacity. What a joke. Do you guys want to know the capacity factor of a world leading solar facility? Try pushing 30% if you are lucky.

 

So if they claim 100% renewable on capacity then on generation they probably are only pushing 20-25% on generation. Absolute joke of a statement and pure PR stunt.

 

Oh and 600 MW sounds like a lot would wide, until you consider modern, safe, clean (cleaner than PV by a long shot) g3+ reactor pushes 1-1.2 GWe by itself.

 

 

Also. While CSP is a fairly clean process, CSP tends to be even less apparently efficient in most locations than PV and PV is a huge contributor to environmental waste on the whole.

[Valentyn]

4 hours ago, Blake said:

That's Foxconn, and now you know how they are green, outsource all the power hungry manufacturing processes to a 3rd party.

3 hours ago, Master Disaster said:

hyped consumerism, they continue to employ child labour or labour that has poor living standards in third world nations and something that no one has mentioned yet is the environmental impact the mining of chemicals used in the manufacturing of batteries has on the planet.

 

Guess you don't buy Microsoft, Sony, Cisco, Google, Nintendo, Asus, Gigabyte, Asrock, MSI, EVGA, XFX, Sapphire, Zotac, AMD, NVIDIA, Acer, Corsair, Seasonic, and oh so many other products either that are manufactured in China and Taiwan then. Primarily by the exact same partner companies.

[LAwLz]

2 hours ago, Sauron said:

If it's true that's nice, but I find it hard to believe they got Foxconn to switch to renewable, and if they only mean their own facilities then this is a drop in the ocean. @DrMacintosh do you have any more specific information on that? If I go "green" and then subcontract most of my hardware production to a megacorp running on coal that kind of defeats the purpose.

 

Also, they can claim to be green as much as they want but their policies on out of warranty products is throw away and burn, not reuse, which means they straight up don't care about the environment outside of publicity stunts. Recycled materials only get you about 20% of the product back as opposed to 80%+ from repairing or repurposing it.

Their 100% number are for:

Quote

retail stores, offices, data centers and co-located facilities in 43 countries — including the United States, the United Kingdom, China and India.

As for manufacturing partners (like Foxconn) they say this:

Quote

The company also announced nine additional manufacturing partners have committed to power all of their Apple production with 100 percent clean energy, bringing the total number of supplier commitments to 23.

 

So yes, they only mean their own facilities of places they rent space in (like stores in shopping malls).

Things their partners or other outsourced work does, is not factored in.

 

 

9 minutes ago, Valentyn said:

Guess you don't buy Microsoft, Sony, Asus, Gigabyte, Asrock, MSI, EVGA, XFX, Sapphire, Zotac, AMD, NVIDIA, Acer, Corsair, Seasonic, and oh so many other products either that are manufactured in China and Taiwan then. Primarily by the exact same partner companies.

People are just pointing out that Apple aren't as great as it might sound at first. I don't think people are saying you shouldn't buy from them because of it.

Please don't resort to ad hominem attacks.

[asus killer]

6 hours ago, Mooshi said:

Pffffthaaaaaaa~ Clean and Chinese factory sounds so bizarre in the same sentence.

China actually has a lot more % of renewable energy use over total, then the US, and that's saying a lot for a developing country when you compare it to the richest country on earth. So...

[Valentyn]

7 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

People are just pointing out that Apple aren't as great as it might sound at first. I don't think people are saying you shouldn't buy from them because of it.

Please don't resort to ad hominem attacks.

Hardly ad hominem, pointing out the hypocrisy of stating Apple are doing it; when in many cases their own favourite brands are doing it; but you never hear of them conducting audits like Apple and some others to try and help.

It's low hanging fruit when looking at the industry.

[LAwLz]

3 minutes ago, Valentyn said:

Hardly ad hominem, pointing out the hypocrisy of stating Apple are doing it; when in many cases their own favourite brands are doing it

To me it seems like you are trying to undermine their arguments by pointing out hypocrisy. That is actually ad hominem. More specifically, a Tu quoque.

Quote

Tu quoque (Latin for 'you also') is a form of ad hominem fallacy that occurs when it is assumed that an argument is wrong if the source making the claim has itself spoken or acted in a way inconsistent with it. The fallacy focuses on the perceived hypocrisy of the opponent rather than the merits of their argument.

 

[Eduard the weeb]

question, this isn't the factories that make Apple products correct, because those are independent companies ?

[Valentyn]

6 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

To me it seems like you are trying to undermine their arguments by pointing out hypocrisy. That is actually ad hominem. More specifically, a Tu quoque.

 

If that's how you feel it's fine. Ad hominem also involves personal attacks on them, which I have not done. Pointing out their hypocrisy is fine to me; especially when they themselves have gone off topic from the start with those comments. All I have done is pointed out the truth of the industry; and directly responded to their statement.

 

[Valentyn]

3 minutes ago, Eduard the weeb said:

question, this isn't the factories that make Apple products correct, because those are independent companies ?

 

It doesn't; little chance of many of those going 100% renewable yet.

[Bensemus]

44 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

People are just pointing out that Apple aren't as great as it might sound at first. I don't think people are saying you shouldn't buy from them because of it.

Please don't resort to ad hominem attacks.

Except these kinds of statements only ever seem to be leveled at Apple. None of the other tech giants seem to get stuck with any unpleasant baggage from their supply chain. 

 

This is also a thread about Apple using more renewable energy but people feel the need to point out unrelated stuff to bring them down. It seems like bad is bad and good is bad. 

 

Could Apple do more? Yes. Does that invalidate what they have done? No. 

[LAwLz]

49 minutes ago, Valentyn said:

Ad hominem also involves personal attacks on them, which I have not done.

Pointing out hypocrisy is a personal attack. You are attacking their character and actions rather than responding to their criticism against Apple.

 

 

31 minutes ago, Bensemus said:

Except these kinds of statements only ever seem to be leveled at Apple. None of the other tech giants seem to get stuck with any unpleasant baggage from their supply chain. 

Well, how often do you see let's say Zotac announce that they are very environmental friendly and only use 100% renewable energy?

Chances are, not that often (if ever).

 

These are not random attacks at Apple. They are statements made as a response to their PR press release.

Google didn't even get a thread when they passed 100% renewable energy, yet Apple did (from a person who is very heavily pro-Apple). The other tech companies don't get the same unpleasant baggage from their supply chains because nobody is trying to put them on a pedestal. Nobody is even bothering to think of them as eco-friendly.

 

1 hour ago, Bensemus said:

This is also a thread about Apple using more renewable energy but people feel the need to point out unrelated stuff to bring them down. It seems like bad is bad and good is bad. 

What unrelated stuff? The ecological impact things like the manufacturing process of their devices have? That was brought up in the OP, so I don't think the people replying are necessarily the ones bringing it up.

 

I get your point though and I do agree. Apple pushing for renewable energy is honorable and deserves at least some praise, rather than disapproval.

[bcredeur97]

im 99% certain that the apple store in baton rouge, LA is not powered by renewable...

 

its in a mall for peat sakes. everyone else there has normal grid-based electricity

[Drak3]

5 minutes ago, bcredeur97 said:

im 99% certain that the apple store in baton rouge, LA is not powered by renewable...

I can tell you the Boise Towne Square store isn't 100% renewable. 50% at best.

[asus killer]

first they do care, they have a Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. This is just more than most countries have, let alone a company. Most countries don't even have a ministry for this and some have some puppet department to pretend they care. US is a good example.

 

You can also check their latest Environmental report:

https://images.apple.com/lae/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Responsibility_Report_2017.pdf

 

I don't think they mean to say they just use renewable, that is simply not possible, stores and all. They mean to say they produce as much energy from renewable as what they use, carbon footprint should be zero.

I think you can clearly infer that from this paragraph in their report:

 

"For example, we connected 40 megawatts of new solar energy to China’s national grid, producing more than enough electricity for all our corporate offices and retail stores in China."

 

The press release is clearly misleading in my opinion, it's PR. But that's not the most important, if what they produce offsets what they use from other sources the end result is still the same, they are carbon neutral, or at least claim to be.

[Master Disaster]

2 hours ago, Bensemus said:

Except these kinds of statements only ever seem to be leveled at Apple. None of the other tech giants seem to get stuck with any unpleasant baggage from their supply chain. 

 

This is also a thread about Apple using more renewable energy but people feel the need to point out unrelated stuff to bring them down. It seems like bad is bad and good is bad. 

 

Could Apple do more? Yes. Does that invalidate what they have done? No. 

That would be because other big corporations don't do around trying to score brownie points by claiming to be using 100% renewable energy.

 

You need to realise that no one said what Apple has done is bad, far from it. Only that what they've said about what they've done is a cleverly worded marketing stunt to try and live up to their public image of being the company that cares, in reality they don't care in the same way all those other companies you mentioned don't care either.

 

They put themselves in the firing line on this one.

[LienusLateTips]

8 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

Oh boy, Prager U....

Prager U actually stands for "University", but they aren't accredited anywhere and aren't a university.