Green Apple?

Apple has been in the crosshairs of environmental activist organizations for years, first in response to the disposable nature of their all-in-one iMacs (monitors contain highly toxic chemicals and can't be reused when the iMac is replaced). More recently, Apple's popular iPhone was singled out by Greenpeace for its cornucopia of toxic components.

But now it seems as though Apple has gotten the message and is making a concerted effort to live up to its Utopian, clean-living roots, as reported by the blog EcoGeek. The Cupertino computer-maker's latest move is a highly transparent report on the carbon footprint of its products, above and beyond what other electronics makers have released.

The environment section of the Apple Web site breaks it down into the following categories, thankfully taking into account the entire life cycle of its products' carbon usage: manufacturing, transportation, product use, recycling and facilities.

Apple says its annual output of carbon emissions, when taking into account the entire life cycle of its products, is roughly 10.2 million metric tons. That's a big number and Apple should be applauded for sharing it, especially when you consider what its peers are (or are not) reporting, as EcoGeek explains:

"HP and Dell have published their annual emissions as 8.4 million tons and 471,000 tons respectively -- numbers lower than Apple - but they don't include the full lifecycle of their products. This new level of disclosure by Apple could put pressure on other companies to reveal the same information."

Let's hope it does.

Image courtesy of Apple