San Francisco city officials say they are moving to block purchases of Apple desktops and laptops, by all municipal agencies, after the company removed a green electronics certification from its products.
Officials with the San Francisco Department of Environment told CIO Journal on Monday they would send out letters over the next two weeks,informing all 50 of the city’s agencies that Apple laptops and desktops “will no longer qualify” for purchase with city funds. The move comes after CIO Journal reported that Apple had removed its laptops and notebooks from a voluntary registry of green electronics, called EPEAT. The standard, created jointly by manufacturers, including Apple, government agencies, and activist groups, requires that electronics products be designed for ease in recycling and higher energy efficiency.
Apple requested that all 39 of its certified MacBooks and desktops be removed from the registry late last month, according to EPEAT staffers. A spokeswoman for Apple declined to comment, referring inquiries to the environment section of the company’s website.
“We are disappointed that Apple chose to withdraw from EPEAT,” said Melanie Nutter, director of San Francisco’s Department of Environment, “and we hope that the city saying it will not buy Apple products will make Apple reconsider its participation.”
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The letter to municipal agencies will cite a 2007 policy that mandates that city funds only be used to purchase EPEAT-certified desktops, laptops and monitors, Nutter said. The Department of Environment has an advisory role over the purchasing of other agencies–not final say.
But San Francisco’s chief information officer, Jon Walton, who has authority over city computer procurement, told CIO Journal he would back the policy, and no longer allow the purchase of Apple computers, though agencies could apply for waivers through a “long” and “onerous” process.
“It’s going to be very problematic to procure Apple products,” Walton said.
Other CIOs in government and educational institutions, where Apple has a strong presence, could find themselves asked to drop MacBooks and iMacs. The federal government, for example requires 95% of its laptops and desktops be EPEAT-certified.
And dozens of top universities require their IT teams to purchase only EPEAT-certified computers. Administrators at Cornell University and University of California, Berkeley, told CIO Journal they are reviewing their Apple purchases in light of Apple’s withdrawal from EPEAT. The U.S. General Service Administration, which sets procurement policy for the government, did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
“Is there some significance? Yes. Major significance? No,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Gartner, of Apple’s rejection of the standard. “Given the relatively small percentage [of organizations] that require 100% EPEAT-compliance, it’s not going to make a whole lot of difference to Apple.”
And while Apple is no longer certifying its products under EPEAT, the company is far more transparent about its environmental practices than other tech companies, Gartenberg said, citing Apple’s annual environmental impact reports, available on the company’s website. Apple also offers several recycling programs online and through its stores.
Just why Apple removed its products from the registry is unclear. Apple helped create the EPEAT standards in 2006, along with other manufacturers, activists and government agencies, and almost all its recent desktops, monitors and MacBooks were registered.
But the EPEAT registry does not yet include certifications for smartphones or tablets, both of which are an increasing part of Apple’s business.
One of Apple’s newest products, the MacBook Pro with its high-resolution “Retina” screen, released last month, would not have been eligible for certification, according to EPEAT CEO Robert Frisbee. That’s because the computer’s battery was glued into its case making recycling, which requires separating out toxic parts, difficult, Frisbee said. An Apple staffer told EPEAT the company was leaving the registry, last month, because of changes to its “design direction,” Frisbee told CIO Journal.
The move by city officials is largely symbolic. Only around 500-700, or 1%-2% total, of municipal computers are Macs, Walton estimated. In 2010, the last year for which the city has complete reports, the city spent $45,579 on Apple desktops, laptops and iPads (the last of which are not certifiable under EPEAT and would not be barred by the city’s policy.) That’s compared to a total of $3.8 million spent overall on desktops and laptops, in 2010.
But Chris Geiger, manager of green purchasing at San Francisco’s Department of Environment, said the move could influence policy far outside the city limits. San Francisco is prominent in environmental circles, and many local governments from around the country look to his office for guidance on green purchasing, he said.
“In terms of purchasing power it’s just a drop in the bucket,” said Geiger. “But there are a lot of cities and counties who will do what San Francisco does.”