Yesterday, I wrote about Apple dropping carbon-neutral claims from its packaging. While the decision is driven by a new EU directive coming into force, the company was just given another reason to drop the claim. A German court found that Apple’s carbon-neutral claims were unfounded. The problem with the claim lies in the carbon offsetting project used to account for 25% of the product’s emissions. Reuters reports:
“Apple based its claim of carbon neutrality on a project it operates in Paraguay to offset emissions by planting eucalyptus trees on leased land. The eucalyptus plantations have been criticised, opens new tab by ecologists, who claim that such monocultures harm biodiversity and require high water usage, earning them the nickname ‘green deserts.’ However, the Frankfurt court said that leases for 75% of the project area were not secured beyond 2029 and that the company could not guarantee these contracts would be extended.”
These same offsets are also at the center of the pending California class action against Apple. As stated in my previous blog, Apple’s sustainability work is praiseworthy. However, this is yet another example of a sustainability program mired in controversy over the use of carbon offsets. The offsets in this instance suffer from several major issues. One is the overall net impact on the environment. It’s easy to get lost in CO2 reduction and miss the big picture. We’re reducing CO2 to protect ecosystems, if we harm ecosystems in that pursuit, the results may be a wash.
Additionally, the project suffers from a permanence perspective. Offsets projects based on short-term leases do not guarantee that captured carbon will stay trapped. Eucalyptus trees are also highly flammable due to the oil they produce. An expired lease or wildfire risk could easily result in captured carbon being released. It’s a shame that carbon offsets are distracting from Apple’s strong sustainability program. More often, we’re seeing offsets pose liability and risk.
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