Apple Inc. Co and Greenwashing
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Apple Inc. Co and Greenwashing
The environment is a significant factor to consider for 21st-century companies. Recently companies have negatively impacted the environment. Life relies on the environment. Any action that tends to bring an imbalance to the environment directly affects life. Companies are beginning to direct their efforts toward saving and conserving the environment. Apple Company is among the companies that have made environmental conservation their priority. The activities the companies put in place to conserve the environment serves as a marketing tool. Conservation of the environment is a global mission. Sometimes, companies, to make sales, are tempted to trick their clients that their products are environmentally friendly.
Apple Company is making efforts to conserve the environment, but it has contributed significantly to the environment’s pollution. The company is producing millions of devices in the market. It has produced a lot of toxic substances in the environment (Dada et al.,2010). In keeping up with the ever-growing technology, the company has produced goods with more features. Activities carried out to ensure the right products get to its clients have an impact on the environment. From acquiring the raw materials up to the manufacturing of the gadgets have exposed the environment to factors that bring about pollution.
The elements that the apple products are made to have a threat to the environment. The elements include; copper, coltan, terbium, and dysprosium. The mining of these elements leaves the environment in a very jeopardizing state. Every time there will be a need to produce the products; the same minerals would be obtained or even additional ones. Technology is dynamic, and its pace is high. Therefore making some devices obsolete, the obsolete products are dumped into the environment, and they tend to be hazardous. The mining activities carried out often have a very negative impact on the ecology. The water basins in the process get polluted and the soil that supports plants as well.
The company is producing more of its commodity for its client due to the rise in demand. Its production over the years is increasing to almost double according to the statistics. The more the products are released into the market, the higher the chances of polluting the environment. The company has to continually convince its customers they are making efforts to conserve the habitats.
Legal issues
The primary reason for an organization’s existence is to make profits. Apple is not an exemption. For the four decades of its existence, it has to provide goods to the clients that satisfy their wants. All along, the gadgets the company produces have been subject to the ever-growing technology. This has resulted in an intense production of apple products to meet the needs as they change. The company has violated some laws and regulations governing environmental issues. The rules and regulations include; Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the endangered species act.
The company has, in several ways, violated the clean air act directly and indirectly. The elements that the company uses as the raw materials are mainly minerals. The mining and Extraction of the elements expose the air to toxic substances. The mining process interferes with the vegetation cover that is responsible for purifying the air (Melnick, 2010). The Extraction of these metals also poses a threat to the atmosphere by producing poisonous gasses like Sulphur dioxide. This gas also contributes to acid rain, which has a corrosive effect and damages plants.
Through mining and Extraction, the apple company has indirectly violated the clean air act. The process of manufacturing the gadgets exposes the air to massive carbon emissions every year. Nitrogen dioxide is another toxic waste in the air that the plants produce. The products from Apple Company are associated with radiations. Aluminium magnesium dust is another poisonous element that the apple manufacturing plants emit into the air. Side effects it brings to its victims include; constipation, diarrhoea, and vomiting. The radioactive particles, when released into the atmosphere continuously, are harmful. The particles get into the body, causing life term harm to their victim. The radiation is also associated with different kinds of cancer.
Apple Company has also violated the clean water act. For an extended period, the company has released a lot of toxic substances to the water bodies. Water forms a crucial part of the ecology. Water a significant role in the balancing of the environment. The company has been releasing untreated waste into water sources and drainage. Pollution in the water has made it hard for farmers, especially in China, to make the water unsafe for consumption.
Teleological
Teleological perspective refers to the reason behind carrying out of an activity. Apple Company is dedicated to ensuring a clean and safe environment. Besides making profits, the company is also concerned with the environment. It has put measures to ensure that this goal is achieved effectively. Apple Company has cut on the use of plastics in making their products and adopted the use of recycled tin to make the body of their gadgets. They believe that cutting on plastics is a major step towards conserving the environment.
The company has also adopted the use of clean and renewable energy. Apple has adopted the use of solar panels to generate the electricity they use in their operations. Solar energy is a 100% clean and reliable source of energy.
Recycling is another measure the company has taken to ensure the environment is clean. The process gets rid of disposed of materials. Materials that cause harm to the environment are collected and then used in the manufacturing of products. Some of the waste comes from earlier versions of their products. As technology is advancing, people have been acquiring new products, and the older ones may find their way to the environment.
Deontological
Deontological refers to a situation where something is considered right or wrong, depending on a clear set of rules. There are rules and regulations put in place to govern the activities of industries regarding environmental conservation. They emphasize air free of pollution, proper methods of managing waste, Procedure and where to dispose of waste. All industries should follow these guidelines to ensure a clean environment.
Apple Company has made steps in conserving the environment, but in some cases, they have failed to comply with the regulations. Recently the company has been disposing of their waste in water drainage. The toxic waste released in water sources is against the rules governing the environment.
As the company is growing and more demand for their products have prompted more production. A high rate of production means that more carbon is released in the environment. There have been cases of aluminium manganese dust, a toxic being released in the air and causing harm to the environment. The rules governing environmental conservation is against the actions which render Apple’s action wrong.
Ethical relativism
Ethical relativism refers to basing morality on the norms and culture of a society. What is wrong or right is relative (McDonald & Svensson). The company mission is to bring the best computing products to support different professionals. Education is evolving and producing more professions. The company must increase its production to meet the growing demand and keep up with the pace of technology.
It is evident that with the increase in apple company’s production, there has been an increase in carbon emissions which pollutes the environment. According to the rules and regulations that govern operations is producing more goods which suits the public needs and also meet the growing demand. The older versions of the products contribute to polluting the environment.
According to the policies in Apple company, they direct more efforts in keeping up with the ever-growing technology and demand to increase production. On the other hand, they are going against environmental conservation policies.
Conclusion
Studying the company activities and products will give clear information about how environmentally friendly the company is. Basing arguments on the legal issues the company has violated laws that are in place to ensure the environment is in a good state. The frequent company emission of waste into the air and also water has interfered with the ecological balance. On the teleological perspective, despite the company efforts to conserve the environment, their emission in the environment is increasing. On deontological and ethical relativism, the company has its main goals and vision which contradicts the policies of environmental conservation.
References
Dada, A., Staake, T., & Fleisch, E. (2010, August). Reducing environmental impact in procurement by integrating material parameters in information systems: The example of apple sourcing. Association for Information Systems.
McDonald, G., & Svensson, G. (2010). Ethical relativism vs absolutism: research implications. European Business Review.
Melnick, R. S. (2010). Regulation and the Courts: The case of the Clean Air Act. Brookings Institution Press.