It is almost a trend among business investors to hide under convenient conservatism to avoid spending money on environmental initiatives. When certain Apple shareholders recently expressed as much, Tim Cook told them to sell their stock.
Apple has pooled some serious money into a number of clean energy initiatives in the last few years. As a result of these initiatives, Apple claimed that 75 of its facilities were running on renewable energy back in 2013. This percentage may have significantly bumped up by now.
And while the company is hailed by many as a leader in clean energy initiatives, it would appear that certain Apple shareholders are not exactly happy with this. Specifically, an Apple shareholder group called the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), recently tabled a proposal which asked Apple to be more transparent in its partnerships with organizations working on sustainable energy.
The move was attempted simply to dig out any ‘affiliations that may primarily advance social or environmental causes rather than promoting shareholder value’, says NCPPR’s proposal. In simpler terms, it means that NCPPR doesn’t want Apple to spend any money on clean energy or any other environmental initiative unless they fare as profitable investments.
Thankfully, the proposal was voted by an insignificant fraction of Apple shareholders. Moreover, when Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked by an NCPPR member about the clean energy initiatives, Cook responded with an excellently direct answer, “If you want me to do things only for [return on investment] reasons you should get out of this stock.”
It is good to note that at least some companies in the tech industry are not driven by profit-hungry investors and can actually take a stand for a good cause.
Courtesy: The Verge
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