Apple is known for their many achievements, from their phones to their tablets. However, we may soon know them as a different kind of company: the environmentally-friendly company. Over the past several years, the tech-giant has made large steps in how they are able to take damaged/unwanted phones back from customers, but now, they’re launching a whole new initiative that with roll three of their current return policies into one.
Apple’s new program, “Renew” will combine the previous incentives like Apple’s trade-in program, Apple Care and Apple’s take-back initiative. Renew will allow users to donate their unwanted/used/broken products to be recycled. The user giving away said Apple products wont just be doing this out of the kindness of their heart, however. In return, Apple is planning on giving those who return products special in-store credit with Apple and several iPhone wallpapers exclusive to those who use the service.
What’s more interesting is that Apple has set up its very own robot designed specifically to make the recycling process easier and more environmentally-friendly. Not unlike Apple, they’ve even branded that device: they call him Liam. Liam is said to disassemble Apple products in a way that makes them easier to recycle. In previous years, the company has used a process that makes separating different components more difficult, and as a result, the process has posed a slight risk to the environment. The new streamlined process of disassembly will take away that slight environmental risk. For more info about Liam, check out this video Apple posted on their website.
This type of innovation is what we’ve come to expect from Apple, but to me, it’s interesting to take a look at this corporate decision for what it is: a move without fear of increased/decreased profit in order to make recycling old Apple products more effective. If anything, the implementation of the Renew program will cost more money than continuing with their old programs, so in a way, this is a huge PR move for Apple, a company who has become more focused on pushing social initiatives in the past few years.
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