Last month’s Apple event included the announcement of what the company claimed were two carbon-neutral Apple Watches, the Series 9 and Ultra 2. But that claim has today been rejected as “bogus” by the European consumer organization BEUC.
The European Union has proposed that it will in the future be illegal to claim that a product is carbon neutral when that claim relies on offsetting credits to balance out the actual greenhouse gas emissions involved in production …
Apple’s carbon-neutral Apple Watch claims
In its press release announcing the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple used the phrase “carbon neutral” no fewer than 24 times!
For the first time, customers can choose a carbon neutral option of any Apple Watch […]
“At Apple, we are committed to making products customers love and protecting the planet at the same time, and this year, we hit a key milestone toward our Apple 2030 goal,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. “Our first carbon neutral products were made in a uniquely Apple way, steeply reducing carbon emissions from materials, electricity, and transportation through innovation and design.”
About halfway down the release came the admission that this claim is based on the use of offsetting credits.
Emissions were reduced from the three biggest sources of greenhouse gases — materials, electricity, and transportation. The small amount of emissions remaining are offset with high-quality carbon credits from nature-based projects.
That “small amount” reportedly amounts to between 7 kg and 12 kg per watch.
Europe describes claim as ‘bogus’
The Financial Times reports that Apple’s use of the term has been rejected by the European consumer organization.
The US tech giant’s decision to rely on credits to cancel out the 7-12kg of greenhouse gas emissions behind each new Watch prompted a sharp reaction from consumer groups in the wake of a long-trailed clampdown by the EU on “greenwashing”.
“Carbon neutral claims are scientifically inaccurate and mislead consumers,” Monique Goyens, the director-general of BEUC, the European consumer organisation, told the Financial Times. “The EU’s recent decision to ban carbon neutral claims will rightly clear the market of such bogus messages, and Apple Watches should be no exception.”
BEUC’s job is to defend consumer rights across Europe.
BEUC is the umbrella group for 45 independent consumer organisations from 31 countries. Our main role is to represent them to the EU institutions and defend the interests of European consumers. Our acronym originates from our French name, ‘Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs’.
Nonprofit Carbon Market Watch agreed, calling the use of offsetting an “accounting trick.”
“It’s misleading to consumers to give the impression that buying the Watch has no impact on the climate at all,” said Gilles Dufrasne, a policy officer at Carbon Market Watch, which is in part funded by the EU. “It’s accounting tricks.”
One Apple offset is extremely temporary
Even if one did accept offsetting credits as legitimate, Apple’s use of timber plantations has come under fire for offering only a very short-term carbon savings.
Apple says the credits will make up for emissions linked to the Watch’s manufacturing, shipping and charging over its lifetime, thanks to carbon absorbed by timber plantations and reforestation projects […]
“Trees are turned into pulp and cardboard or toilet paper,” said Niklas Kaskeala, who advises companies on carbon credits. “The carbon stored in these products is released back into the atmosphere very quickly”.
All the same, it’s acknowledged that Apple is ahead of most companies on this work, cutting 81% of Watch-based emissions compared to 2015 production.
Carbon neutral claims set to be banned in Europe
The European Union recently announced plans to ban carbon neutrality claims in marketing materials where those claims rely on offsets – which is to say, 100% of them. The ban is not yet certain, but is currently expected to come into force in 2026.
9to5Mac’s Take
Arguments could be made for either side here. There is literally no such thing as carbon-neutral manufacturing – the best that can be done is for a company to account for the carbon released into the atmosphere by its production processes, and buy a matching amount of offsetting credits.
Top comment by Blorft
I appreciate and support Apple's efforts to make their products more environmentally friendly (even as I push for them to do more in the future). They are doing more than other companies and deserve recognition for that.
However, I agree with the BEUC that Apple's use of carbon offsetting credits is an accounting trick, and the production of these products is still emitting a certain amount of carbon. Apple is simply buying offsets from another company, effectively transferring the responsibility for those emissions onto whoever they bought the credits from.
Perhaps we need new terminology to describe the differences here - "carbon neutral" for products that are truly carbon neutral from start to finish, and "carbon offset" for products that purchase credits to offset their carbon emissions. They could even do both and have manufacturers label their products as "X% carbon neutral, Y% carbon offset."
Apple’s offsetting credits do rely significantly on forests, and while some portion of those remain intact, most trees are later felled for paper production, at which point the carbon neutrality is lost.
It is fair, I think, to call Apple’s claims misleading, even if “bogus” might be somewhat inflammatory.
On the other hand, it’s also true that Apple does more than any other tech giant to reduce its carbon footprint, and it has made genuinely impressive progress. This includes strongly encouraging and supporting its supply chain to address its own environmental impact.
As we’ve noted before, genuine carbon neutrality is best achieved by using the products we already own.
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