Apple's 'Environmental Obligations Are Not Taken Seriously Enough,' Say British Lawmakers

After failing to appear before British lawmakers, Apple has been accused of not taking its environmental obligations seriously enough, particularly on e-waste, reports Bloomberg.

uk parliament logo

Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked to appear before the Environmental Audit Select Committee of the House of Commons, but failed to respond before a September 4 deadline. Apple was previously asked to put forward a representative to speak on its behalf in July, but it canceled at short notice.

The committee mainly examines how government department policies and programs affect both the environment and sustainable development, and was specifically looking into Apple's actions to combat electronic waste.

Apple's "unwillingness to answer my committee's questions has led us to believe its environmental obligations are not taken seriously enough," said Chairman Philip Dunne in a statement, despite the fact that the company "appears to have a positive story to tell regarding its efforts on climate change."

With more than two billion iPhones sold, Dunne said that Apple's answers about the steps it is taking to minimize its environmental footprint are crucial. An excessive number of electronic devices are too difficult or expensive to repair, creating a "throwaway society for electronics," he said. Apple did not respond to Bloomberg's request for comment.

In February, Apple was fined 25 million euros by a French consumer fraud group and 10 million euros by Italy's antitrust authority for intentionally slowing down some iPhone models via a software update, which could negatively incentivize users to upgrade a newer device. Apple has strongly refuted accusations of planned obsolescence in the past.

Earlier this year, Apple committed to becoming carbon neutral across its entire business and manufacturing supply chain by 2030. This month, Apple announced it will construct two of the world's largest onshore wind turbines near Esbjerg in Denmark, in an expansion of its investment in renewable energy.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...

Top Rated Comments

Baymowe335 Avatar
59 months ago
Apple is pretty far down their list of concerns if they are really worried about environmental impacts.

Apple just has the most money and public visibility.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jakewilk Avatar
59 months ago
Of all the companies to go after... not the ones making billions of android devices that are obsolete after two years of updates...
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bryan Bowler Avatar
59 months ago
Lawmakers are laughable at best. The moment they don’t get the attention they crave, they come up with clickbait stories. Apple is a true leader in environmental waste issues.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Moakesy Avatar
59 months ago
Hey Tim, we're really worried about Apple's environmental policies. Can you jump on a private jet and fly thousands of miles for no other reason than to talk about it to us? /s

This is more about our MP's wanting to raise their own profile and further their career. If they were serious, they'd be far easier ways to do this, or bigger areas to target first.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TraceyS/FL Avatar
59 months ago
Apple is visible, and the ONLY company that is pretty darn transparent in their environmental efforts. This is a "wth?" kind of statement to me.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FoxMcCloud Avatar
59 months ago
Ironic coming from the UK gov.

https://climatenewsnetwork.net/uk-paris-climate-treaty-has-no-domestic-effect/
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)