Time release technology

Apple confirmed recently the release of its tablet and iPhone 4 by January 27. This is great news for Apple die-hards.

But not all is good news at Apple. Especially for some stockholders.

While Apple "boasts" that it is a green company, even putting the One (no, the other the One that goes by the name of Al), on its board, they are expected to refuse again the request of some stockholders to release its environmental sustainability report and the formation of a board-level committee to address sustainability issues.

It may count Nobel Prize-winning climate change campaigner Al Gore among its number, but that has not stopped the board of IT giant Apple from opposing two shareholder petitions calling on the company to introduce new environmental governance measures.

Environmental group As You Sow is to repeat its effort of last year and table a petition at the company's forthcoming annual stockholder meeting on behalf of a group of Apple shareholders, including the influential New York City Office of the Comptroller, calling on the company to prepare a sustainability report by July 2010.

It will be accompanied by a second petition calling on Apple to form a specific board-level committee to address sustainability issues.

As You Sow will argue that more than 2,700 firms now issue environmental reports, including competitors of Apple such as Dell, IBM and HP.

It is surprising that Apple could not comply as its competitors and a lot more companies have been able to do these.

... Apple "lags behind global industry peers on sustainability reporting" and will call on it to produce an annual report providing details on how the company will "reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address other environmental and social impacts such as toxics, recycling and employee and product safety".

Perhaps, Apple is afraid that its operations are not actually "green" and that they cannot in reality reduce their own emissions. Remember that most of Apple's manufacturing operations are overseas, in countries like ultra-emitting China.

Disclaimer: I "love" my Apple gadgets and will not part with them because I am not a GWA (read: hypocrite).

H/T: PlanetGore