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The 1984 Super Bowl wasn’t a particularly exciting moment in sports history.
The Oakland Raiders trounced the Redskins 38-9.
But that game was memorable, not for any particular play or touchdown.
But for an ad.
A call to revolution from a young and scrappy tech company from California.
That company was none other than Apple, and that commercial would be praised as one of
the more iconic advertisements that ushered in the new personal computing era.
Apple may have started a revolution in 1984 with that ad and their personal computers,
but fast forward to 2019 and they seem to be a lot more like Big Brother on the screen
then the woman throwing the hammer.
They’ve become a $750 billion dollar behemoth that has consistently innovated in the realm
of personalized tech.
Recently, they claim to be innovating on another front as well: sustainability.
So, I’m curious whether Apple is as environmentally friendly as they say, or whether there are
environmental costs hidden under their sleek, shiny surface.
One of the biggest claims Apple has made in the last couple of years is that it now runs
on 100% renewable energy.
But what does that actually mean?
According to Apple’s most recent 2019 environmental report, approximately 66% of that renewable
energy comes from projects owned by Apple, like their headquarter’s massive solar roof.
The other 34%, however, is a mix of direct purchasing from renewable utilities and buying
renewable energy certificates or RECs.
RECs are essentially a carbon credit for renewable energy.
If you buy them from a utility, somewhere in the grid the equivalent amount of renewable
electricity will be created.
So theoretically, Apple could be using a percentage of fossil fuels in its energy mix, but this
made up for somewhere else in the utility grid by generating the equivalent amount of
energy with renewables.
That being said, this 100% renewable claim only covers a certain subsection of Apple’s
total operations.
This includes offices, retail stores, and data centers around the world.
All of those together, as Apple admits, only account for 2% of their total carbon footprint.
The majority of Apple’s carbon emissions, some 74%, come from the manufacturing of their
products in third-party factories.
In Apple’s 2019 environmental report, they claim to have emitted 25.2 million metric
tons of Carbon dioxide, which is roughly the equivalent of putting 5.3 million new cars
on the road each year.
While Apple has made strides in terms of their energy usage and working with third-party
suppliers during the manufacturing process, there seems to be a disconnect between that
work and their release of yearly models.
By constantly churning out slightly upgraded phones and computers, Apple and other tech
companies have given rise to a desire for new tech, even though people might not actually
need a replacement.
This quick cycle, paired with planned obsolescence, has led to the subsequent trashing of perfectly
good pieces of hardware.
The Global E-Waste Monitor states that 44.7 million metric tons of e-waste was thrown
out in 2016, and that number is predicted to grow to 52.2 million by 2021.
Just think about how many phones or old laptops you have sitting in a random, forgotten drawer.
Needless to say, we buy phones and computers way more often than we should or need to,
and the rate at which Apple announces new products (and the rate at which their old
products wear out) only hastens this cycle.
This is also in part due to the lack of customizability and fixability of Apple’s hardware: It’s
not very intuitive to just switch a battery in an Apple computer if its dead.
The repairability of Macs is so bad that the repair website iFixit gave the new 2019 13
inch Macbook Pro a 2 out of 10 for repairability and the 2019 Ipad Mini and Ipad Air also got
a 2 out of 10.
But if you’re Apple, this makes sense.
They are a for-profit company constantly in need of beating out the encroaching competition
in order to make a bigger profit than last quarter.
The harder it is for customers to repair Apple tech, the more likely they are to buy Apple’s
newest models.
In comparison, a company like Fairphone is bucking this trend.
They seek to create a more environmentally conscious and ethical phone by making their
models easily repairable, modular, and longer-lasting.
That being said, Apple has created a token robot called Daisy that can apparently take
apart and recycle 200 used Iphones per hour.
But that will nowhere near scratch the surface of trashed Iphones let alone address computer
waste.
It does, however, point to Apple’s interest in implementing a sound recycling program
for their phones.
Apple does have flaws like many other tech companies, but compared to its competitors
in the field, it seems to be actively working to create the smallest carbon footprint possible
for a phone or computer.
However, I think an even bigger question to ask is whether it’s actually possible to
innovate environmentally within the bounds of a for-profit system.
Should we be patting Apple on the back for their environmental efforts, despite the fact
that they are a hundred-billion dollar company and could definitely be doing more to mitigate
climate change?
According to Apple’s environmental report, they have curbed their emissions by 35% since
2015.
That’s substantial, but they still emitted the equivalent of 25.2 million metric tons
of C02 in 2018.
Because their main focus is not environmental health or climate change, those issues will
never be prioritized over selling more products.
So while we should appreciate the fact that Apple is aligning its systems in a more environmentally
conscious way, they still have a long way to go.
At the end of the day, should you buy something from Apple?
In terms of the environment, the best thing you can do is to buy a used computer or phone.
But if you absolutely need something new, then yes, Apple is a pretty decent choice.
They are proving to be a leader in the tech field when it comes to sustainability and
renewable energy.
But in reality, the bar that they have to pass in order to gain that praise is pretty
low, and supporting a more environmentally conscious company is never a better option
than buying used or not buying anything at all.
When we’re trying to understand Apple as a company, we need to look beyond its flashy
aesthetics in order to uncover the truth of their claims.
Indeed, some degree of scientific thinking is necessary in order to evaluate their environmental
impact.
Luckily, Brilliant has an amazing course that uses puzzles to hone your critical and scientific
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This course is awesome because you’re not just sitting back and reading, instead Brilliant
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Hey everyone, Charlie here.
Thanks so much for watching.
I want to give a quick shout out to Chris Lam for his generous support on Patreon.
He is one of many patrons who’s supporting me on my video making journey.
So thank you so much!
A quick note, there will not be a video in two weeks, because I’m taking a break, but
I’ll see you very soon.