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Apple CEO furious as climate change deniers criticise the company’s green policies, tells them to ‘get out’ of Apple stock
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“We do a lot of things for reasons besides profit. We want to leave the world better
than we found it”
Apple CEO Tim Cook frequently promises that his company isn’t just about making a profit, but also about doing “the right thing”. Cook confirmed this commitment during the company’s most recent shareholder’s meeting when he lost his temper with a group of climate change deniers, making Gordon Ramsay look like a mild-mannered kitten in comparison.
A right-wing conservative think tank called the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPRR) used the meeting to criticise Apple’s connection with environmentally conscious trade industry groups.
The NCPRR (which received $445,000 in funding from Exxon Mobile between 1998-2008) filed a proposal to force Apple to favour company profits above environmental goals: “We object to increased government control over company products and operations, and likewise mandatory environmental standards. This is something [Apple] should be actively fighting, not preparing surrender.” The proposal was rejected by the meeting, despite which NCPPR director Justin Danhof asked Cook to promise to commit to projects that help the environment or fulfil other social justice aims only if they boosted Apple’s profitability. The usually laid-back Tim Cook’s reaction to Danhof’s demands was crystal clear: “We do a lot of things for reasons besides profit motive. We want to leave the world better than we found it,” he said. “When we work on making our devices accessible by the blind, I don’t consider the bloody ROI [return on investment],” he added, before saying, “When I think about doing the right thing I don’t think about an ROI… if that’s a hard line for you, then you should get out of the stock.”
The NCPRR reacted to Cook’s admonishment with a grumpy press release, “If Apple wants to follow Al Gore and his chimera of climate
change, it does so at its own peril. Sustainability and the free market can work in concert, but not if Al Gore is directing corporate behaviour,” it added, in a somewhat childish outburst against former US Democrat vice president and Apple board member, Al Gore, who is a known environmental champion.
Apple is engaged in numerous attempts to help on a social or environmental basis. As detailed in its Supplier Responsibility Report, it is striving to improve working conditions for those inside its supply chain, including independent monitoring, education initiatives and more.
When it comes to the environment, Apple is making significant investments in green energy:
• In March 2013 it said over 75% of its offices worldwide were powered by renewable, clean energy. • All of Apple’s data centres are powered by
renewable energy. • The company has measured and reported the carbon footprint of its facilities and its products since 2009. • Apple continues to revise and extend its
global product recycling attempts. • At its Cupertino HQ, Apple has cut energy use
by 30% despite staff growing by 12%.
The ultimate goal is to “power all Apple facilities entirely by renewable energy,” the company says on its website. Underscoring this determination to be green, Apple last year hired Lisa Jackson, former head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, to lead its sustainability efforts for the future years to come.
Greenpeace spoke for the majority of us who care about protecting the environment in its reaction to Cook’s statements, saying, “As Apple is proving, the smart money is with sustainability. Other CEOs would serve their companies and shareholders well to follow Cook’s example.”