In a surprising turn of events, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s recent declaration of its new Apple Watch being “carbon neutral” has been put under scrutiny by a Chinese environmental research organization.
What Happened: The Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), a Beijing-based non-profit, has raised questions about the authenticity of Apple’s carbon neutral claim for its Apple Watch, reported Inside Climate News.
Apple had earlier acknowledged IPE as a foremost non-profit environmental research organization. The organization accused Apple of overstating its climate change mitigation efforts, a practice referred to as “climate-washing”.
In response, Apple maintained that the carbon neutrality of its Apple Watch series was independently validated by SCS Global Services, an environmental standards certification authority. The tech giant stressed its commitment to renewable energy and its ongoing cooperative initiatives with suppliers to boost renewable energy use.
However, IPE's report contended that Apple’s supplier transparency was lacking, particularly for those involved in manufacturing Apple products. It pointed out Apple’s heavy reliance on buying renewable energy certificates instead of directly using renewable energy. The effectiveness of these certificates has been a subject of debate.