Starting with the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple did a big deal about it being a carbon neutral product. This is due to a combination of emissions reduced by about 80%, and Apple offers a high-quality carbon offset to make up what remains. The company also followed suits with its new Mac Mini.
However, Apple no longer advertises its Apple Watch and Mac Mini as carbon neutral. why? Well, this marketing change does not reflect changes in policy. While Apple is committed to the “Apple 2030” carbon neutral target as before, the EU ruling means that Apple must avoid using the “carbon neutral” terminology in relation to its products…
EU law, which comes into effect in September 2026, essentially suppresses the use of claims such as “carbon neutral” in product marketing, even if the product is completely carbon neutral.
Rather than allowing different companies to interpret the meaning of carbon neutrality in different ways, EU regulators chose to simply take a hard-line approach and prevent companies from mentioning it.
In preparation for this, Apple chose to switch environmental marketing. all over the world. This is why individual products such as watches and Macs are no longer advertised as “carbon neutral.” This change in approach was actually first mentioned in the fast company overview from August.
Although we can’t scream as loud as a year ago, Apple’s work on reducing emissions continues. The Apple Watch Series 11 has lower net emissions compared to Series 10, for example. 8.1kg and 8.3kg, respectively.
The company says it is well underway to achieve carbon neutrality across its supply chain by 2030.
