Greenwashing Apple

Dear Editor,

The greenwashers just keep greenwashing. The latest corporation to quietly flush their environmental aspirations down the toilet? Perennial electronic favorite, Apple. Apple likes to tout their environmental bona fides - according to their website, Apple touts a goal of using '100%' recycled or renewable materials in their phones by 2030, claiming already to be using 99% recycled cobalt in batteries this year.

No large company is looking out for your best interest.

Greenwashing, or claiming environmental credentials to paper over environmentally-unfriendly moves, is alive and well with Apple. The latest news indicates that they dropped a so-called 'ESG modifier' from executive pay packages in 2025; this sweetener could have boosted executive pay by up to 10% if the company hit certain environmental targets, including greenhouse gas reduction or use of renewable energy in production.

Granted, this seems minor in the grand scheme of a rapidly heating climate, water shortages, natural disasters - but Apple is a billion-dollar global company. Billions of iPhones and Apple devices are floating around in people's hands every day. If we don't incentivize their decision makers to be good environmental stewards, the fallout could be catastrophic. Push companies to do better; vote with your wallet, and keep one eye out for greenwashing.

Sincerely,

Nathan Dombeck

Janesville, WI