Outcry Forces Apple Back to Green Program

Just days after Apple surprised many environmentalists by announcing it would pull out of the EPEAT eco-friendly certification program, the computer giant is back in, reports the San Jose Mercury News. Calling the original withdrawal a "mistake," Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering said the reversal was made because of an outcry from the "many loyal Apple customers who were disappointed." Those included some cities and school districts, which would have been forbidden from buying Apple products.

"Companies make mistakes," said one expert. "They underestimate the reaction they're going to get from the public, especially in an era of tweeting and social networks." With environmental certification so expensive, many observers think the original pull-out might have been a trial balloon, not just for Apple but for the whole computer industry. "Apple suddenly discovered that people do care," said one tech analyst. "I think the entire industry was holding their breath on this one to see what would happen. I don't think anyone else is going to do it now." (More Apple stories.)