Politico

Four 'Politico' stories July 2012 - September 2014

Jay Carney joining CNN after reportedly being considered for Apple PR chief

Zac Hall Sep 10 2014 - 6:24 am PT

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Former White House Press Secretary for the Obama Administration Jay Carney is joining CNN as a political commenter, Politico reports. The announcement was made by the cable network and Carney today.

“I’m thrilled to be joining CNN at a time when there is so much happening in the nation and the world,” Carney said in a statement.

Carney’s move to CNN surely means the end to reports that the former White House Press Secretary is in the running for Apple’s top PR spot vacated by now-retired Katie Cotton. Re/code reported earlier this year that Carney was among the top candidates in the running for that role, and Bloomberg later corroborated that report. This likely means Apple was in talks with Carney, but Apple and Carney will be going in different directions. The search for a ‘friendlier, more approachable’ PR chief continues.

Former EPA administrator Lisa Jackson comments on new gig at Apple, Greenpeace calls hire a ‘bold move’

Jordan Kahn May 29 2013 - 12:46 pm PT

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Apple-and-the-environment
Lisa-P-Jackson Following Tim Cook’s announcement last night that former EPA administrator Lisa Jackson would be joining Apple to head up environmental responsibilities, Greenpeace has issued a statement calling the hire “a bold move” that could “make Apple the top environmental leader in the tech sector”:

“Apple has made a bold move in hiring Lisa Jackson, a proven advocate with a track record of combating toxic waste and the dirty energy that causes global warming, two of Apple’s biggest challenges as it continues to grow,” says Greenpeace’s Senior IT Analyst Gary Cook. ”Jackson can make Apple the top environmental leader in the tech sector by helping the company use its influence to push electric utilities and governments to provide the clean energy that both Apple and America need right now.”

Apple has come under pressure from Greenpeace a few times in recent years and at one point accused the company of powering its iCloud service with ‘dirty coal energy.’ Last year Apple dropped to No.6 in the organization’s 18th annual Guide to Green Electronics due to lack of transparency on a number of environmental related issues including GHG emission reporting, clean energy advocacy, and further information on its management of toxic chemicals.

Jackson said she is “thrilled to be joining the team” and to continue Apple’s commitment to the environment in a statement to Politico following Cook’s announcement (below):
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Tim Cook discusses taxes before Tuesday’s visit to Congress: ‘Apple does not funnel domestic profits overseas’

Zac Hall May 16 2013 - 1:04 pm PT

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Yesterday Politico reported that Tim Cook will appear before Congress next week to testify in a hearing regarding how the company is handling its overseas finances and domestic taxes, and today Politico has published a brand new interview with the Apple CEO.

Tim Cook and Apple tend to avoid any public discussion aside from comments during quarterly earnings calls, but it seems the company is on a PR offense leading up to next week’s public hearings.

“We don’t have a large presence in Washington, as you probably know, but we care deeply about public policy and believe creative policy can be a huge catalyst for a better society and a stronger economy.”

Cook went on to defend Apple against any accusations that may come its way next week.

“I can tell you unequivocally Apple does not funnel its domestic profits overseas. We don’t do that. We pay taxes on all the products we sell in the U.S., and we pay every dollar that we owe. And so I’d like to be really clear on that.”

The Apple CEO also noted the company’s $100 million project to produce a Mac line in the United States this year, which the company says will add jobs to the economy.
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Report: Feds second-guess buying Apple comps

Élyse Betters Jul 12 2012 - 10:22 am PT

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The city of San Francisco stopped purchases of some Apple products after the company announced it planned to forgo an environmental rating system, but a new report indicates federal officials might refrain from buying Cupertino-built computers as well.

According to Politico, which cited a “governmental source,” federal officials familiar with sustainability issues are thinking twice before procuring Apple’s computers. The feds met yesterday to discuss the matter, and the website’s source further claimed the officials will “seek a meeting with Apple soon.”

Politico explained:

Last week, Apple decided to stop using an environmental certification program, the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool run by the Green Electronics Council, a Portland, Oregon-based nonprofit. EPEAT was developed through a stakeholder process supported by the EPA.

The EPEAT rating system is used to monitor a computer’s environmental impact throughout its lifecycle, including the end of its use. The program is used by governments, enterprise, universities, health care and other large institutions to make purchasing decisions.

Federal procurement decisions for fiscal 2013 are being made now, the government source said. Federal officials are worried that the government’s efforts to buy environmentally friendly products will be set back, the source said, adding, “Apple’s competitors are looking at this and saying if they can get away with this maybe we can too.”

The Green Electronics Council said in a statement on the EPEAT website that it “regret[s] that Apple will no longer be registering its products in EPEAT. We hope that they will decide to do so again at some point in future,” while Apple told The Loop recently that it “takes a comprehensive approach to measuring our environmental impact and all of our products meet the strictest energy efficiency standards backed by the US government, Energy Star 5.2.”

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