The opinions expressed here by Trellis expert contributors are their own, not those of Trellis.
Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook presented President Donald Trump with a gold plaque and a promise to invest $100 billion in the United States. The move was good for his business and shareholders, to be sure. But given that Cook, and Apple, have historically professed to care about more than just business success (like climate change), now might be the perfect time for them to use their newly manufactured goodwill to tackle climate for the sake of business and society.
In its 2024 Environmental Progress Report Apple noted, “We owe it to our global community to rise to the challenge of climate change with all the innovation, empathy and commitment we can muster.”
The company has made admirable steps toward greening its own operations by investing vast sums and leading the industry on those measures. It also left the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 16 years ago because of that trade group’s opposition to climate policy.
But noble as their operational efforts are, they’re a category error — like turning the stove off as a way to stop a house fire.
In simple terms, Apple and Cook have followed the playbook of the rest of the giant, massively profitable and therefore highly influential tech industry — which is to do everything they can to appear to lead on climate, without actually doing the things required to solve the problem. Their work, viewed in isolation, seems worthy. But given the reality of the problem and the speed and scale of action required, it’s far from sufficient.
Instead of driving change at a societal level, Apple has almost exclusively focused on its own impacts, calling for vague action on climate such as corporate or federal emissions targets, but almost never asking for federal regulation. The company has been virtually silent on specific policies, including during the Senate battle over the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which eventually passed — and during the recent legislative action to dismantle much of the IRA.
Even in their much-lauded television ad that spoofed an “audit” by Mother Nature, the company never once mentioned public policy, focusing solely on operations. And yet, Cook hasn’t been entirely silent: he donated a million dollars to Trump’s inauguration, tacit support for his anti-climate policies.
A different playbook
Apple and Cook could really lead by deploying a different playbook: the one business has always used to drive change in society. That approach uses power, voice, lobbying force, political influence, money, marketing machinery and customers to create the right social, economic and legal incentives to drive desired outcomes.
This successful corporate influence playbook has been in place since 1972. At that time, big businesses, offended by stringent legislation such as the Clean Air and Water Acts, National Environmental Policy Act, the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Civil and Voting Rights Acts,