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Like everyone else we don't know what's in the iPhone yet. It debuts
June 29th. But we already know how green a phone can be. Nokia, Sony
Ericsson, and Motorola have both removed some of the worst chemicals
from their phones and identified extra toxic chemicals they intend to
remove in the future -- even beyond the minimal legal requirements.
Nokia and Sony Ericsson have a global take-back policy for their phones and accept their responsibility to reuse and recycle the phones they manufacture. That saves resources and helps prevent old phones ending up as e-waste dumped in Asia.
Due to our successful Green my Apple campaign Steve claimed: "Apple is ahead of, or will soon be ahead of, most of its competitors" on environmental issues. This is Apple's chance to prove it.
Analysts are projecting between 4 to 10 million iPhones will be sold in the first year. This is a big chance for Apple to avoid the use of a lot of toxic chemicals. And how soon will those 4 to 10 million iPhones be made obsolete by Apple's next big innovation? Because millions of them will be cast aside as old gadgets when the latest arrives. Will Apple offer global options to prevent them from becoming e-waste?
Some might point out that the iPhone has already been made and shipped so it's too late to make any changes. But Apple uses the same supplier (Foxconn) as Nokia for parts of its iPhone. So theoretically Apple could have specified parts free of the worst toxic chemicals from a supplier already meeting Nokia's strict chemicals requirements.
What will Apple do to address the extra energy iPhones will consume? Nokia and Motorola are focussing on making their phone chargers more efficient; Nokia is developing user warnings to unplug when the phone is charged.
Will the iPhone have a user replaceable battery, to prevent iPhones with broken batteries become premature e-waste?
If Steve was serious that Apple was already making environment considerations a priority then the iPhone launch will be the first chance to prove it with a greener product. With Steve and Michael Dell seemingly publicly slugging it out for the title of greenest computer company, maybe Steve will land the next green blow by launching a phone even greener than those currently on the market. This is his chance to demonstrate a major Apple product that has been designed with environmental concerns as a priority.
There's a lot of people expecting nothing less from Steve.
Nokia and Sony Ericsson have a global take-back policy for their phones and accept their responsibility to reuse and recycle the phones they manufacture. That saves resources and helps prevent old phones ending up as e-waste dumped in Asia.
Update: So the iPhone is out. Not a single
word from Apple about any green features. Nothing about reducing toxic
chemicals or encouraging recycling for old phones dumped for the
iPhone. Maybe it's just another case of Apple 'failing to communicate'
its environmental priority? What is for sure is the iPhone appears far
behind greener phones from Nokia and Sony Ericsson. That's a missed
opportunity for Steve to prove his commitment to a "Greener Apple" and
bad news for the planet. (We'll be investigating further so stay tuned).
"There's already phones that do this"
Due to our successful Green my Apple campaign Steve claimed: "Apple is ahead of, or will soon be ahead of, most of its competitors" on environmental issues. This is Apple's chance to prove it.
To be only as
good as Nokia and Sony Ericsson, Apple should:
- Not use toxic chemicals like brominated flame retardants and Polyvinyl Chloride in the iPhone.
- Offer for free worldwide take-back for the iPhone.
Analysts are projecting between 4 to 10 million iPhones will be sold in the first year. This is a big chance for Apple to avoid the use of a lot of toxic chemicals. And how soon will those 4 to 10 million iPhones be made obsolete by Apple's next big innovation? Because millions of them will be cast aside as old gadgets when the latest arrives. Will Apple offer global options to prevent them from becoming e-waste?
Some might point out that the iPhone has already been made and shipped so it's too late to make any changes. But Apple uses the same supplier (Foxconn) as Nokia for parts of its iPhone. So theoretically Apple could have specified parts free of the worst toxic chemicals from a supplier already meeting Nokia's strict chemicals requirements.
Carbon calling
What will Apple do to address the extra energy iPhones will consume? Nokia and Motorola are focussing on making their phone chargers more efficient; Nokia is developing user warnings to unplug when the phone is charged.
Will the iPhone have a user replaceable battery, to prevent iPhones with broken batteries become premature e-waste?
Dell vs Apple: Eco-Rumble in the Electronics Jungle
If Steve was serious that Apple was already making environment considerations a priority then the iPhone launch will be the first chance to prove it with a greener product. With Steve and Michael Dell seemingly publicly slugging it out for the title of greenest computer company, maybe Steve will land the next green blow by launching a phone even greener than those currently on the market. This is his chance to demonstrate a major Apple product that has been designed with environmental concerns as a priority.
There's a lot of people expecting nothing less from Steve.
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