Described by Steve Jobs as “a tour de force of engineering” the Apple notebook event has brought us several new notebooks and an LCD cinema display.  An updated MacBook Air, an aluminium bodied MacBook and a new MacBook Pro as well.  You can read about these in more detail from several blogs here, here, here and of course from Apple itself.

My interest, for this post anyway, was drawn to the environmental aspect that Apple was keen to push forward.  They have been criticised in the past for being one of the least environmentally conscious companies, and this seems to have rattled their cage somewhat.

Their new notebooks have all been awarded the Environmental Protection Agency Gold rating and Apple was keen to push the fact that none of their new Notebooks contain toxic chemicals and that their new MacBook Pro features:

• Arsenic free glass
• BFR free
• Mercury free
• PVC free
• Highly recyclable
• 37% smaller packaging

It was also pointed out that due to the amount of less packaging they are actively reducing their carbon footprint (less packaging leads to more that can be transported in a single shipment).  Apple mentioned the environmental aspect no less than 3 times during the hour long event.  Greenpeace has been quick to slam Apple in the past as one of the most environmentally damaging companies, see here and here.  It will be interesting to see if the change in Apple’s attitude to environmental issues changes their ranking with Greenpeace.

In any cae, you can now feel better about buying a new notebook from Apple…