Apple claims the Apple Watch 9 is carbon neutral, but consumer groups disagree
In recent years, Apple has placed a lot of emphasis on its environmental credentials, and with the Apple Watch 9 the company made one of its biggest claims yet, saying this wearable was “carbon neutral,” but that claim has been disputed.
According to a report in the Financial times (through Ars Technica), a number of consumer and environmental groups have claimed that this is incorrect, as Apple relied on purchasing carbon credits to achieve carbon neutrality.
This means that Apple – of course – created carbon emissions to produce the Apple Watch 9, but the money spent on these credits will be invested in projects such as reforestation, which removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The idea here is that Apple fully offsets its carbon use by investing in these projects. But critics argue that this approach is flawed.
Questionable credits
Firstly, there are questions about whether these plans actually remove as much carbon as Apple’s manufacturing processes, with Niklas Kaskeala, chief executive of the Compensate Foundation, saying that timber plantations, for example, are “turning trees into pulp and cardboard or toilet paper” and that “the carbon stored in these products is released back into the atmosphere very quickly.”
Even if these projects actually fully offset Apple’s carbon emissions, “it is misleading for consumers to give the impression that buying the Watch has no climate impact at all,” said Gilles Dufrasne, policy officer at the nonprofit Carbon Market. See, since Apple still has a big influence on the climate in the creation of the Apple Watch 9. Dufrasne added that “it’s accounting tricks.”
However, this carbon-neutral claim may not be one that Apple and others will be able to make for much longer, as the European Parliament and Council agreed in September to ban “misleading advertising,” including “claims based on emissions offset programs that make a product a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment.”
This ban is not yet in force, but will take place in 2026 – although this only applies to the EU.
Apple’s approach is not without merit
However, it’s worth noting that while it’s probably smart to be skeptical of carbon-neutral claims, Apple seems to be doing more for the environment than many big companies.
In addition to carbon credits, Apple also makes extensive use of recycled materials, clean electricity and non-air transport, meaning its products are increasingly transported by ship or rail instead of by plane, which is worse for the environment.
So the company deserves credit for this, but might want to work on the wording – and perhaps rely less on carbon credits to achieve its environmental goals.