HP, Apple, and Dell: Which Has the Most Green to Tell?

A quick survey of corporate environmental rankings from sources including Newsweek and Justmeans consistently show Apple behind their tech sector competition.  The 2009 Justmeans rankings put HP at number seven, Dell at number 68, and Apple at number 100 with lower numbers equating to more environmentally friendly.  Newsweek put Dell at number one in the United States for their 2010 list.  Despite rankings, Apple may be seen as an environmentally friendly company.

In 2008 Apple received lots of attention in the media for announcing green initiatives.  The 2008 Wall Street Journal Article "How Green is Apple?" calls attention to the industry-wide concern of voluntary environmental reporting.  The need for consistent and objective rating adds to the importance of third party rankings.

Since 2008 Apple has announced improvements in their environmental record.  Apple has focused on the removal of materials that affect personal and environmental health, including arsenic, brominated flame retardants (BFRs), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).  Additionally Apple has focused on energy and emissions but not always directly.  One example is the reduction of MacBook packaging by 53% between 2006 and 2010. Apple claims that this reduction allows them to ship 80% more boxes in a single airline shipping container.

Apple's environmental information is presented on their website in a friendly conversational way.  Compare the action Apple took to help reduce their transportation footprint which, according to Apple, is only 5% of their total environmental footprint.  HP, regarding product transportation, conversely, states:

"We optimize distribution networks and convert to lower-energy transport modes where appropriate, but we do not control shipping operations."