With things like glued on front glass and glued in batteries (iPad) what would you expect? Certainly not a favorable rating. In the past- quality electronics used screws and gaskets, cheap Chinese junk (think $5 Christmas lights) use glue instead. Not designed to be dissembled/repaired. Apple is heading towards expensive Chinese junk status...
If recyclable materials can't be easily separated they won't be recycled. Was the first iPad glued together? If so, the slide to maximizing short term profit started on Jobs' watch. If you can't pass the standard then withdraw. No grade is better than a failing one. The disposable design didn't seem to hurt iPod sales. I'm sure this will hurt institutional sales. Early on this would have been important but if most of their market is retail then it will just be a blip.
I won't hesitate to say that this would not be happening with Jobs still around. It's one thing to have products in development that might not meet an existing standard. It's a completely different thing to withdraw perfectly conforming products from the standard listing. A wiser course of action would have been for Apple to have provided an explanation of why the present standard is causing problems and Apple's alternative course of action for environmental responsibility, even if not to the highest standard possible. It's just DUMB to announce to the world that you are declaring total abandonment of environmental concern.
What are they going to do about all the tree hugger Apple fanboys whose heads exploded when they heard that Apple was dropping out of EPEAT? You can't unexploded ahead. What kind of tone deaf management would have allowed that to happen?
Companies do listen when the upROAR is loud enough. Still wonder how someone in Apple's board room didn't shoot the EPEAT withdrawl on the spot - such an obvious PR disaster the did not have to channel Steve Jobs for an opinion.
