Environmental group criticised for approving Macbook designs

ENVIRONMENTAL GUARDIAN Greenpeace has condemned the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) for approving the latest Macbook's glued-in battery design.

The EPEAT has given the seal of approval to a group of ultrabooks that Greenpeace thinks will reduce electronics lifespan and lead to excessive e-waste.

Greenpeace's main gripe is based on the glued-in batteries in ultrabooks, like the Macbook, which could force consumers to buy a new notebook when their battery goes bad.

"Apple wanted to change the EPEAT standards when it knew its Macbook Pro with Retina Display would likely not qualify for the registry in July of this year. Now, EPEAT has reinterpreted its rules to include the Macbook Pro and ultrabooks," said Greenpeace's IT analyst Casey Harrell

"Is it a coincidence? It's unclear why EPEAT caved in, but the impact is that EPEAT has confused consumers and businesses who want to buy green electronics that can be repaired and will last a long time, and sets a dangerous trend for the burgeoning market of ultrabooks."

Apple's relationship with the EPEAT took a hit earlier this year when the Macbook maker decided to back out of the EPEAT registry which rates electronics for environmental damage potential last July.

However, Apple quickly jumped back on EPEAT bandwagon following criticism from government agencies.

For its part the EPEAT says it held the glued-in battery equipped ultrabooks to the same rigorous standard's as any other electronic device.

"EPEAT is committed to foster greener electronics and to give purchasers the tools to evaluate green claims," said chief executive officer of the EPEAT Robert Frisbee.

"The system's rigorous environmental assessment processes result from a powerful stakeholder collaboration that includes purchasers, environmental advocates, government, manufacturer, recycler and academic participants. This latest series of stringent investigations demonstrates the power of that approach."

News of the new Macbook's environmental approval comes with the rumours that Apple is planning to release a new 13in Macbook Pro with a Retina display later this month.

According to a report from 9to5 Mac the new 13in Macbook Pro will be released alongside the new Ipad Mini on 23 October. µ

This article was originally published on V3.