Apple’s stock becoming new favorite among “green” mutual funds as it bolsters its environmental efforts

A new report filed by Reuters points out Apple’s favorability among top “green” mutual funds as the Cupertino company continues to improve its environmental report card. The report cites Apple as the top holding by the Parnassus fund, Calvert Equity Portfolio, and Green Century Balanced Fund, and says Apple is the third-largest holding in the Pax World Balanced Fund.

The confluence of a rising price and improving environmental performance make Apple “the one stock you just can’t ignore,” said Anthony Tursich, senior portfolio manager of the $498 million Portfolio 21 Global Equity Fund, a green fund that bought Apple in 2011 after the company began providing more emissions data.

Apple has increasingly bolstered its environmental track record in recent years.  Probably most notable, though, is something Cook said at a recent shareholder meeting: “If you want me to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock.” While the report from Reuters notes that environmentally focused mutual funds do not compare in size to general equity funds, it is significant that Apple’s stock is being invested in by mutual funds that recognize and appreciate the company’s efforts.

The company launched an environmental campaign around Earth Day which included an ad saying “There are some ideas we want every company to copy” while depicting the company’s use of solar panels used by its data centers as well as an environment-focused video ad narrated by Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Last spring, Tim Cook announced that Lisa Jackson, former head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, would be joining Apple to lead the company’s environment initiatives. Since joining, Lisa Jackson has publicly spoken about her role at Apple and what the company is doing and plans to do in regards to how it approaches the environment.

Notably, Apple has ranked well in recent reviews by industry watchers like Greenpeace, which scored the company’s green Internet efforts favorably among its peers in its latest report card.

Reuters notes that the interest in Apple can be contributed in part due to increased availability of funds to investment groups that consciously consider the environment, but it’s clear too that Apple’s focus and attention to the impact it has on the planet is striking a chord as well.