Public convinced Apples are green
Consumers rank Apple as the most environmentally-friendly tech brand according to a new study. But the authors argue that may be as much due to marketing as reality.
The study (pictured) comes from TDG, a research company specializing in contemporary trends in the tech industry. As part of a wider study of environmental issues in technology, it asked survey participants to choose which of a range of leading firms they considered most environmentally friendly.
Apple topped the list with just under a third of people selecting. Dell came second with 21% and HP received 15%.
However, as the firm points out, and as we referred to in our recent piece on allegations of toxic fumes in Macs, environmental groups don’t agree. Greenpeace runs an annual ranking of tech firms, based on the chemical content of their products, their recycling policies and their record on climate change issues. In the 2008 study Apple scores 4.1 out of 10, putting it behind Dell and HP plus Sony and Toshiba, both of whom rated lower in the consumer attitudes study.
TDG President Michael Geeson says this is due to strong marketing and the brand’s ‘simple’ image:
In today’s market, aesthetics in branding and design matter when it comes to portraying a pro-environment message. Independent of whether Apple’s products and services are actually environmentally friendly, consumers perceive them as such. While other CE vendors may have to invest a fortune to improve their green image, Apple doesn’t seem to have this problem.
The report also found that younger people are more likely to pick Apple as the most environmentally friendly, while those who consider themselves less tech-savvy are more likely to pick Microsoft as the greenest brand.
It also seems that tech lovers, particular ‘early adopters’ are much less interested in a product’s environmental credentials than mainstream buyers. That makes some sense as early buyers are more likely to be driven by new features.
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