City of San Francisco stops buying Macs without EPEAT certification
Yesterday TUAW reported on Apple's withdrawal from the EPEAT green electronics registry, along with a note that federal, state, and local governments might balk at buying Macs as a result. The City of San Francisco, CA has announced that letters will be sent to all 50 city agencies over the next two weeks notifying them that Apple desktops and laptops will no longer qualify for procurement.
Will this have an impact on Apple's bottom line? Well, in 2012 the City purchased a total of $3.8 million on desktops and laptops -- only $45,579 of that amount was for Apple products including iPads. iPads don't fall under the EPEAT certification and wouldn't be subject to the purchasing ban.
Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying "Given the relatively small percentage [of organizations] that require 100% EPEAT-compliance, it's not going to make a whole lot of difference to Apple."
Despite Apple's withdrawal from the EPEAT standards (which it helped create in 2006), the company's green record is better than that of many other electronics manufacturers. Apple publishes annual environmental reports online showing both successes and areas that need improvement, and the company sponsors recycling programs both online and through the retail outlets.
