Apple Jumps to Fourth in Greenpeace's Environmental Rankings of Electronics Companies

greenpeace 2011 rankings
Fortune notes that Apple has risen to fourth place in Greenpeace's annual ranking of electronics manufacturers by environmental criteria, as published in the organization's annual Guide to Greener Electronics. Apple moved up to fourth place this year from ninth place in last year's survey, making gains in the greenness of its products and sustainability efforts in its operations, but remaining below average in its energy scores.

apple greenpeace ranking history
As noted in the report on Apple (PDF), the company does score some points on the energy front for its use of renewable energy sources, with select facilities in Texas, California, and Ireland powered by 100% renewable sources, representing 13% of the company's facility-related energy usage. Apple is also beginning work on a solar farm at its new North Carolina data center, an item unmentioned in Greenpeace's report. The most significant ding in Apple's energy scores according to Greenpeace is a lack of a stated advocacy policy for clean energy.

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...

Top Rated Comments

elhungarian Avatar
186 months ago
Lol @ RIM
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ouimetnick Avatar
186 months ago
Meh. Greenpeace.. Didn't they VANDALIZE an HP building? Very unprofessional if you ask me. Just like PETA
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FFArchitect Avatar
186 months ago
Go completely green = do nothing?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
66318 Avatar
186 months ago
I'm a little surprised they aren't already ahead of the pack ... their consumer outlook is very green, so their corporate practices must be poor.
They get knocked down because they aren't as vocal about being green as Greenpeace would like. This is what bothers me about Greenpeace, they aren't happy until you've completely committed to their side, and spend your time preaching about it. Any less is seen as bad to them, and this attitude can push people away from the very goals they want.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
840quadra Avatar
186 months ago
I would love to see greenpeace manufacture, and ship millions of devices per year, and see if they can match or better any of the companies on the list.

The fact that the companies are trying is great, and it is nice to see continued improvement for many of them.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nagromme Avatar
186 months ago
Awareness of these issues is critical. But when Greenpeace does it wrong, they hurt their own very important cause.

"lack of a stated advocacy policy”

Words ARE important. No question. But actions and reality are more important. Harder to measure, maybe but there’s no helping that!

Maybe they should have two separate scores: Best Stated Policy and Best Delivered Reality.

I don’t know where Apple would fall on the latter scale, but somewhere very high!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)