Apple Removes 'Netral Carbon' Claims From Its Products And Packaging

Apple removed the carbon neutral explanation on its product page (photo: dock. unsplash)

JAKARTA Apple has quietly removed the term 'carbon neutral' from its product and packaging pages for its latest hardware. These changes affect the Apple Watch Series 11 and Mac mini M4.

This change comes amid increasing global scrutiny and new regulations regarding environmental claims made by the company. In fact, previously Apple was aggressively using carbon neutral packaging or components.

Launching from Apple Insider, boxes for old models such as the Apple Watch SE 2 and Mac mini M4 previously displayed symbols or labels showing carbon neutrality. However, these symbols are no longer visible in the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 boxes.

Despite the 'neutral carbon' claim to remove it, Apple is still highlighting its environmental efforts. The Product Environment Report still details the use of recycled content on renewable devices and electricity for production.

However, Apple's decision to remove this claim is indeed unexpected. It is unclear what underlies this change, but Apple faced sharp criticism after the Apple Watch Series 9 was launched.

Apple's carbon-neutral initiation has been criticized by China's environmental research organization as greenwashing. European environmental groups also claim that the company's statement is "scientificly inaccurate" and "misleading".

This criticism was strengthened when a German court ruled that Apple's carbon neutrality claims were baseless and violated business competition laws. Most likely, these changes are driven by European directives that will take effect in 2026.

This directive explicitly prohibits environmental claims based solely on easing greenhouse gas emissions. Apple previously used carbon compensation methods, such as tree planting, to offset emissions from Watch Series 9 production.

The carbon compensation method is often criticized for its difficulty in measuring carbon which is actually removed, so it is often referred to as greenwashing. The ban in this EU directive makes carbon-neutral claims based on offsetting problematic.