Key Takeaways
- On Wednesday, a group of 7 customers filed a lawsuit against Apple for falsely claiming three versions of its smartwatches to be carbon neutral.
- They said that if they knew beforehand that these watches weren’t exactly carbon neutral, they would have opted for other sustainable options.
- However, Apple stands by its claims that its watches are in fact carbon neutral.
Apple is being sued by customers for falsely claiming that its smartwatches are carbon neutral.
A complaint was filed on Wednesday in a California federal court by 7 buyers of green-tagged Apple Watches, i.e., the 9, SE, and Ultra 2 models. They said that had they known these watches were not actually carbon neutral, they wouldn’t have bought them.
Apple’s false advertising may lead [consumers] to choose its products over genuinely sustainable alternatives – the complaint
For those who don’t know, “carbon neutral” products mean that the company offsets the carbon emissions created during the creation of the product. However, in this case, the plaintiffs feel that Apple’s offset design is faulty, meaning it isn’t properly removing the carbon emission.
Therefore, the plaintiffs are seeking monetary compensation for damages (the amount is unspecified) and an injunction to stop Apple from marketing those three watches as carbon neutral.
What Does Apple Have to Say About This?
Apple seems to stand by its claims that its products are carbon neutral. Company spokesperson Sean Redding further added that they’re proud of their cutting-edge carbon reduction programs that have allowed them to innovate sustainably.
As per him, Apple Watch’s carbon emissions have been reduced by 75%. As for the remaining carbon emissions, they invest in “nature-based projects” that claim to remove thousands of metric tons of carbon from the environment.
Now this is what the buyers have an issue with – the remaining 25%. The company has invested in two forestry projects. The first is Kenya’s Chyulu Hills Project, and the second is China’s Guinan Project. It’s worth noting that both these places were heavily covered by trees even before the project began.
So, the buyers feel that this is no credit to Apple. The trees would have existed and continued to remove carbon even without Apple’s involvement or the project’s existence. Hence, it’s not a genuine carbon offset.
The company has promised to become completely carbon neutral by 2030, including its supply chain. So, an allegation like this really raises questions about how committed Apple is towards this goal.
This is also not the first time that Apple’s carbon neutrality initiative has faced criticism. In 2023, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs found that the carbon footprint of some of Apple’s suppliers was growing.
Apple’s carbon footprint did reduce between 2021 and 2023, though, but it still churned out a whopping 16.1 million metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2023.
All in all, the better way forward for the company would be to focus on carbon neutrality of its entire supply chain and shift from fossil fuels to green energy sources. As for Apple’s customers, the best way to support sustainability is to limit impulse buying and follow the reuse-recycle-reduce mantra.
Read more: Apple pledges to invest $500B in the US
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