From laptops to tablets, and smart phones to mp3 players, Apple is one of the top companies to sell a variety of technologies. Unfortunately, Apple initially announced that they would remove the products from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool registry. Last month, however, the company apologized in a letter declared that federal agencies will be able to buy Apple products after all.
In order for Apple products to be certified for purchase by federal agencies, they would have to be on registry. Unless there was no standard for the product, the government authorized that 95 percent of all technology, (such as smart phones and tablets) purchases have to be on the EPEAT registry.
Bob Mansfield, Apple Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineer, wrote a letter to consumers which was posted on the company’s site.
“We’ve recently heard from many loyal Apple customers who were disappointed to learn that we had removed our products from the EPEAT rating system. I recognize that this was a mistake. Starting today, all eligible Apple products are back on EPEAT,” Mansfield said.
Apple would have cut off all of its business with the federal government if they removed themselves from the list. Its commercial success has made their products popular amongst government workers who are accustomed to using these products in their personal lives.
The company has also been working on going green with their products, but it has not yet been measured by EPEAT. Apple strives to make the most energy-efficient computers worldwide with their product lines exceeding the ENERGY STAR 5.2 government standard. Mansfield says, “No one else in our industry can make that claim.”
Apple thinks that in order for them to be more environment-friendly, the IEEE 1680.1 standard could be stronger if it was upgraded to include advancements such as excluding harmful toxins. Mansfield stated that, “This standard, on which the EPEAT rating system is based, is an important measuring stick for our industry and its products.”
Mansfield ended the letter stating, “Our relationship with EPEAT has become stronger as a result of this experience, and we look forward to working with EPEAT as their rating system and the underlying IEEE 1680.1 standard evolve. Our team at Apple is dedicated to designing products that everyone can be proud to own and use.”
Talking from experience myself, the saying, “Once you go Mac, you can’t go back” is pretty much spot on. People have been jumping on the Apple bandwagon after using other products such as Dell, HP and Sony because of its promising and user friendly technology, especially with businesses. Customers were relieved to hear that Apple was put back onto registry.
Pia Talwar is a college graduate with a Bachelors degree in Mass Communications: Print Journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University
