The Macbook Air M4 has given Apple reason to crow about their sustainable credentials.

They promise the following and indeed deliver.

55% recycled materials

100% recycled aluminium enclosure

95% recycled lithium in the batter

Apple say they are moving to Apple 2030 where they will be carbon neutral. Apple even slaps on a charming green label to reassure customers that their underwhelming laptop won’t doom future generations.

Except, minor detail: it’s all nonsense.

What Happened

Apple released a MacBook and couldn’t help but tell the world about its environmental credentials.

Apple has made similar claims about the Apple Watch. Then this week, Apple got slapped with a lawsuit alleging that their carbon neutrality claims are about as real as a 40-hour workweek in Silicon Valley.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit accuses Apple of misleading consumers by relying on carbon offset projects that don’t actually reduce carbon emissions in any meaningful way.

I’m going to say it. Apple is guilty of greenwashing.

Carbon Offset = CGPoint(x:0, y:0)

Apple’s grand carbon neutrality claims rest on two key carbon offset projects, Kenya’s Chyulu Hills Project and China’s Guinan Project. Both of these projects are meant to balance out Apple’s emissions by absorbing carbon elsewhere.

Sounds great, right?

Well, here’s the problem: the plaintiffs argue that these areas were already protected or heavily forested before Apple got involved. Meaning Apple’s “offsets” didn’t actually offset anything. That’s like eating a double cheeseburger and then donating a salad to a stranger, claiming you’ve balanced out your diet.

According to the lawsuit, Apple’s carbon neutrality claims hinge on the illusion that their involvement made a difference. But in reality, these forests were doing their thing long before Tim Cook’s marketing team decided to slap a sustainability sticker on a smartwatch.

Green Labels, Green Profits

Why does this matter?

Because customers care about sustainability. There’s a reason why Apple tell everyone about their sustainability credentials in every presentation and press release, they’ve leaned into a green agenda to make people feel like they aren’t destroying the world with their tech purchases.

The problem is that they’re pulling a VW on this one and hiding the truth (like with the automakers diesel emissions). They’re use carbon math makes no sense, and now they’re being called out in a court of law.

Corporate Greenwashing: The Apple Way

Apple’s commitment to sustainability has long been part of its brand identity. They’re aiming for full carbon neutrality across their entire business by 2030, but if this lawsuit has any merit, that means we should take all future claims with a hefty pinch of Himalayan pink salt.

Companies love throwing around phrases like “carbon neutral” and “net zero” because they sound impressive while meaning almost nothing. It’s the same logic that turns a tech company with a trillion-dollar market cap into an underdog fighting for justice every time they get sued for monopolistic behaviour.

It really feels like Apple only care about profits. They aren’t interested in being carbon-neutral because if they did, they wouldn’t rely on simple accounting tricks. That might mean making less resource-intensive devices, with fewer features. That might mean a slower upgrade cycle. They’re not going to do that, since it would impact profit.

The Developer’s View

The yearly upgrade cycle is slowly becoming a waste of everybody’s time. A spec bump from M3 to M4 isn’t really going to excite anyone. The fact you can now (finally) use two monitors with a MacBook Air is something, but hardly worth buying a new machine for.

Each and every machine post-M1 is good enough for development. Your company might have a 2-year refresh cycle so your machine doesn’t become unusable due to the caked Ramen on the keyboard, so there’s that. But don’t keep buying machines you don’t need every year, you’d be better off spending you money on some deodorant (this is aimed and one specific developer, so ignore that if this does not apply to you).

Conclusion

I know, I know. A lawsuit in itself means very little. Apple have very deep pockets and can afford an army of lawyers, so will probably win the case.

The thing is, the mere existence of this lawsuit exposes the murky reality of Apple’s green marketing. They’re trying to look sustainable without adopting the practices that will actually make their work better for the environment.

If you really want to save the world, maybe skip the annual tech upgrade. Oh, and recycle that old technology — how hard can it be?

Apple’s M4 MacBook Air: Just Breathe and Believe