Designed to make a difference.
Every time you buy something, you make an impact on the environment.
Apple designs energy-efficient, highly recyclable products that help you lessen that impact.
Energy Efficiency
Because 53 percent of Apple’s greenhouse gas emissions are a result of the power our products consume, we design those products to be as energy efficient as possible.
Energy use.
The way we see it, the energy a product consumes when you plug it in and use it contributes significantly to the environmental footprint of the company that made it. It also contributes significantly to your environmental footprint. That’s why Apple designs products to be energy efficient. In fact, every new Mac meets the strict low-power requirements of the ENERGY STAR specification. Lower power consumption reduces energy bills and lessens the environmental impact of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
Power management.
There are three ways to reduce a product’s energy consumption: Use more efficient power supplies, use components that require less power, and use power management software. Because Apple makes both the hardware and the software for our systems, we are able to use all three of these methods.
Apple custom-designs highly efficient power supplies to reduce the amount of power wasted when bringing electricity from the wall to your computer. And unlike a lot of Windows-based PC systems, Mac systems use energy-efficient hardware components that work hand in hand with the operating system to conserve power. Mac OS X spins down hard drives, activating sleep mode on already energy-efficient LED displays. And it balances tasks across both central processors and graphics processors. Mac OS X never misses a power-saving opportunity, no matter how small. It even regulates the processor between keystrokes, reducing power between every letter you type. That’s just one of many ways Apple manages small amounts of power that add up to big savings.
Mac mini is a great example of Apple’s energy-efficient design philosophy. It uses less than 14 watts of power at idle — that’s something no other desktop computer can do.
ENERGY STAR qualification.
Every single computer in our product line is ENERGY STAR compliant. Apple is the only company in our industry that can make this claim. Mac desktops and portables even met the latest efficiency requirements of the ENERGY STAR Version 5.0 Specification for Computers before its July 2009 effective date. ENERGY STAR 5.0 sets significantly higher efficiency limits for power supplies and aggressive limits for the computer’s typical annual power consumption. Not only do energy-efficient designs save energy, they also lessen the single biggest product contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Visit the ENERGY STAR site
15-inch MacBook Pro 2.8GHz using the Pages application.
Every new Mac is ENERGY STAR compliant.
Recyclability
All Apple products are designed to be highly recyclable. And we’ll responsibly recycle your old computer, display, iPod, and mobile phone.
Longer-lasting products.
Apple designs products that last. The built-in battery in MacBook Pro is a perfect example. Other notebook batteries can be charged only 200 to 300 times. The MacBook Pro battery can be charged up to 1000 times.1 And because this battery lasts up to five years, MacBook Pro uses just one battery in about the same time a typical notebook uses three. That saves you money, produces less waste, and increases the lifespan of your MacBook Pro.
Highly recyclable products.
When your Mac finally reaches the end of its long life, the raw materials used to create it can be reused in other products. Apple products are made of high-quality materials such as aluminum, polycarbonate, and glass, making them extremely valuable to recyclers.
Apple recycling programs.
If you live in the U.S., Apple offers a free recycling program for old computers and displays with the purchase of any new Mac. A free iPod recycling program conducted through Apple Retail Stores offers environmentally friendly disposal and 10 percent off the purchase of a new iPod.2 And a free online recycling program takes back all iPod models as well as mobile phones — regardless of manufacturer. Ready to recycle? Get started on the Apple Recycling site
The EPEAT Gold standard.
Every Apple computer sold in the U.S. has earned the highest rating of EPEAT Gold. The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, or EPEAT, evaluates the environmental impact of a product based on how recyclable it is, how much energy it uses, and how it’s designed and manufactured. Few products achieve EPEAT Gold status — and no other company has achieved it across an entire product line. Learn more at EPEAT.net
