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EPEAT CEO: Apple's Exit Spurred a Customer Backlash
On Monday, Apple
public with its decision to pull its products
a popular environmental registry. On Friday, it's back in. What gives?
It turns
the customer backlash was big.
In a letter posted
the Apple website, hardware chief Bob Mansfield calls Apple's move to pull
computers from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) environmental lists "a mistake," and says Apple's relationship
EPEAT "has become stronger as a
of this experience."
But there's a
more to it than that.
In a phone conversation with EPEAT CEO Robert Frisbee, I learned that Apple's exit from the organization
major waves. Frisbee said he got a flood of feedback
"dozens" of purchasers, many of
were concerned that they wouldn't be
to follow through
planned purchases that included Apple equipment.
EPEAT-certified goods
up more than $65 billion in purchases annually. Frisbee said he didn't know
Apple received the same volume of feedback. (But I bet they
.)
Here's
Apple's reversal really matters. The old Apple didn't care
this kind of stuff. It sold its products overwhelmingly to individual
, and one of the advantages was that it didn't
to worry too much
the preferences of corporate purchasing departments.
Sure,
were small exceptions — it sold an eMac computer to education customers that was crafted
the needs of that institutional audience, for example. But Apple has largely shrugged
the concerns of corporate customers, at least when they conflicted
Apple's internal priorities
making a more elegant product.
Note that its laptops no
have the removable batteries I.T. departments covet, and the
version of Apple's Final Cut Pro editing program was
a drastic departure from previous versions
it upended professional video workflows, and prompted some pro video shops
abandon the product.
Which brings us to
EPEAT situation. The new Apple is poised
become the largest technology company in the world
revenue – and if it's going to fulfill
potential, it can't afford to alienate major purchasers of Macs, iPhones and iPads.
No question, that's exactly
Apple's withdrawal of its products from the EPEAT registry would have
. Some major buyers like educational customers and governments require that
or all of their technology purchases be EPEAT certified. No certification,
purchase.
Even
iPhones and iPads don't fall under the
of EPEAT certification, they'd still be affected.
If organizations
no longer able to purchase Macs, it would be harder
them to increase purchases of smaller-ticket mobile items.
Perhaps
important, Apple had developed a reputation
corporate purchasing departments for not being the easiest supplier to work
.
The real danger here might
been bruising the trust of the institutional purchasers
will be a key constituency if the iPad and iPhone are going to become mainstays of the office as
as the home.
Adapted from: CNBC, July 13, 2012.
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