U.S. Chamber replies to Apple’s defection
The United States Chamber of Commerce has replied to Apple’s defection over the Chamber’s environmental and climate change policy, taking shots at both Apple and CEO Steve Jobs.
Apple, long a very public believer in in sound environmental policy, recently released incredibly complete and accurate statistics on the carbon load of their products. The metrics, published on the Apple Web site, take into account the carbon cost of manufacture, usage, and recycling of their product base, showing once again their concern over the environmental cost of their products. Shortly thereafter, Apple noisily resigned from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for reasons involving the Chamber’s stance on climate change.
Apple’s belief is that the Chamber is much more pro-business than pro-environment, and that their stance is affecting the policies of some of their members and therefore allowing climate change to accelerate, rather than spurring action to ameliorate it. The Chamber, in a letter from Chief Executive Tom Donohue to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, said, “It is unfortunate that your company didn’t take the time to understand the Chamber’s position on climate and forfeited the opportunity to advance a 21st century approach to climate change,” as reported in a Wall Street Journal story.
Donohue continued, “While we do support legislation to address climate change, we oppose legislation such as the Waxman-Markey bill that numerous studies show will cause Americans to lose their jobs and shift greenhouse gas emissions overseas, negating potential climate benefits. … It is a shame that Apple will not be part of our efforts.”
Apple is not alone in their disbelief of this and other Chamber pronouncements. In the recent past, Nike Inc., PG&E Corp., and Exelon Corp. have resigned from the chamber for exactly the same reasons. Other companies that have publicly quarreled with the Chamber’s climate-change politics, but have stayed as member of the group, include General Electric and Johnson & Johnson. Apple, however, is more than one member among 3 million. They are a highly visible company that is seen by the public to always be on the leading edge of positive technology, including environmental issues. Apple’s defection could lead to a landslide of resignations from the Chamber, and could be a large factor in causing the national group to reconsider its environmental policy.
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