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Apple returns to environmental ratings list

315 days ago

(AP:NEW YORK) Apple Inc. said Friday that it is putting its products back on an environmental ratings registry, saying it made a mistake in removing them from the list.

The Cupertino, Calif., company said all of its eligible products are back on the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool registry, and says it looks forward to working with EPEAT, the nonprofit organization that runs the registry.

Apple told EPEAT that it was withdrawing its products from the list on June 29, and said it did not plan to submit its products for ratings in the future.

The list is considered an industry standard and it helps customers buy electronics that are environmentally friendly. Some municipalities also use it to guide their decisions in buying electronics.

In a letter posted on Apple's website, Bob Mansfield, its senior vice president of hardware engineering, said the company "heard from many loyal Apple customers who were disappointed" the company had removed its products from the system.

"I recognize that this was a mistake," he wrote.

After Apple's previous announcement, the city of San Francisco said it would stop buying Apple computers.

Shares of Apple rose $7.66, or 1.3 percent, to $606.56 in afternoon trading.

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