Responding to criticism from the conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), over the hiring of former Environmental Protection Agency head Lisa Jackson and Apple’s focus on sustainability efforts, Apple CEO Tim Cook explained that Apple is not in business for the short term, according to a report from Think Progress.
“We do a lot of things for reasons besides profit motive,” Cook said of the NCPPR’s call, according to Mashable. “We want to leave the world better than we found it.”
Speaking Friday at Apple’s annual shareholders’ meeting, Cook advised. “If you want me to do things only for [return on investment] reasons, you should get out of this stock.”
Prior to the meeting, NCPPR had released a statement saying that Apple should be doing more to fight government-imposed environmental standards, which they believe could be bad for business
After the meeting, NCPPR released a statement saying, “After today’s meeting, investors can be certain that Apple is wasting untold amounts of shareholder money to combat so-called climate change. The only remaining question is: how much?”
Since taking over as CEO, Cook has been very aggressive about turning Apple into a ‘green’ company.
Apple has increased its usage of renewable energy from 35 percent in 2010 to 75 percent worldwide with plans to eventually be at 100 percent.
Last year Apple announced it would build one of the world’s largest solar arrays.
Despite what NCPPR may believe about best business practices, the project is projected to generate about $11 million in annual revenue, and add 7,400 jobs in Cupertino, California.