Roger Fingas
On Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook once again secured a position on Time magazine's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People, and was praised in a profile written by Democratic Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis.
Lewis wrote that Cook has brought Apple to "unimaginable profitability" and "greater social responsibility" at the same time. He claimed that Cook is "unwavering" in supporting personal privacy, while also actively advocating for LGBT rights, and "leaving our planet a little cleaner and a little greener" by instituting renewable energy programs for the company's US offices and datacenters.
The company is working on making all of its US facilities powered by renewable energy, primarily solar. That is just 2 percent of the company's carbon footprint, but Apple has defended itself by saying that 70 percent of its footprint stems from facilities it doesn't own, and that another 22 percent is produced by customers.
"Tim Cook is proof that even the most successful companies can and should be judged by more than just their bottom line," Lewis concluded.
Apple has taken flak for privacy and LGBT issues in some cases as well. Although the company is one of a number of businesses that have called for an end to bulk data collection by the US National Security Agency, documents leaked by Edward Snowden show that Apple is a partner in that surveillance, whether willingly or not.
Cook has been called a "hypocrite" for his LGBT stance by conservative critics, who note that Apple continues to sell products in countries where gays and lesbians can be imprisoned or executed.
Elsewhere in the Time piece, lead Apple designer Jony Ive wrote a profile for Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, in which he said Chesky has an "obsession with detail and practicality" helps make "what could so easily be noble but abstract ideas functional and real."
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12 Comments
tim cook is great. excellent to have a corporate leader focused on social and environmental progress. consumers reward apple for that.
If he's so unwavering, why doesn't he help Apple become honest about serious problems with the current iPhone 6 Plus? The phones continue to crash and some go through a serious phase of opening and shutting down spontaneously. When any comment is posted on an Apple sponsored board, and it suggests anything Apple does not want to hear about the phone, it is removed immediately and the person who dared speak the truth is warned. There is a serious flaw in the Apple iPhone 6Plus and the fact that the new year's versions are almost the same except Apple has doubled the RAM. This is the most obvious answer to the problem. But you are for idden from mentioning. This implies it really is just a matter of too little RAM installed and the solution is easy. Just find a way to increasethe RAM in current iPhones or replace them with the new 2 GB models. There seems to be no other solution but Apple continues to ignore the problem.
This consumer "rewards" Apple by buying its products. I wouldn't buy them if they weren't good in themselves, no matter what the CEO's various stances were. I don't happen to endorse homosexuality, but I don't condemn anyone because of it. I admire Mr. Cook for his demonstrated competence as an executive, and for his palpable sincerity and compassion.
danielsw: Nobody needs your endorsement or condemnation to be who they are any more than you need theirs to be who you are. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but it is profoundly tiresome - and chauvinistic - that anyone thinks their permission is needed for anyone else to be themselves. And unfortunately, many people think that their opinion matters and should be used to regulate and constrain the personal lives of others.
danielsw: do you endorse black? Because gay people have about as much control over their orientation as you do your skin color. It's really important to the rest of us that you endorse black. For realz.