In going green, Apple decided to leave the Chamber of Commerce. (image: pulse2.com)

On Monday, Apple became the latest company to resign from the US Chamber of Commerce over objections to the latter’s climate policy, according to an article in the New York Times. Apple joins a growing number of companies—including Pacific Gas & Electric, PNM Resources, nuclear power giant Exelon, and cultural icon Nike—to tender their resignations, citing the chamber’s opposition to the Waxman-Markey bill, a climate bill which passed the US House in June. Apple’s resignation comes a few weeks after the company expanded the environmental disclosures on its products.

In a statement released on Monday, Catherine Novelli, Apple’s Vice President of Worldwide Government Affairs, said, “As a company, we are working hard to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by relying on renewable energy at our facilities and designing more energy-efficient products for our customers. . . . For those companies who cannot or will not do the same, Apple supports regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and it is frustrating to find the chamber at odds with us in this effort.”

Meanwhile, the Chamber of Commerce has vociferously defended its position. Last week, Thomas J. Donohue, president and chief executive, released a statement stating the following: “We believe that in order to succeed, any climate change response must include all major C02 emitting economies, promote new technologies, [and] emphasize efficiency. . . . We oppose the Waxman-Markey bill because it is neither comprehensive nor international, and it falls short on moving renewable and alternative technologies into the marketplace.”

In a shot clearly aimed at progressive climate-change initiatives, Donohue said, “Some in the environmental movement claim that, because of our opposition to a specific bill or approach, we must be opposed to all efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, or that we deny the existence of any problem. They are dead wrong.” The US Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation, representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations. While it has drawn fire for its opposition to the Waxman-Markey bill, the Chamber has claimed that its views on the issue are “mainstream and commonsense views shared by a broad majority of the American people, the business community, and a growing number of Democrat and Republican leaders.”

(image: nike.com)

Nike announced on Wednesday that it is resigning its position on the Board of Directors of the US Chamber of Commerce, according to Greenbiz.com article. Following several high-profile electric-utility companies, including Pacific Gas & Electric Co., Public Service Company of New Mexico, and Exelon, Nike cited the Chamber’s opposition to progressive climate-change legislation as the cause for its resignation. In a statement released earlier, Nike expressed disappointment “with the US Chamber’s recently filed petition challenging the EPA’s administrative authority and action on this critically important issue.”  Nike explained the decision to continue its membership in the Chamber–though not its board seat–“to advocate for climate-change legislation inside the committee structure” in the belief that the company “can better influence policy by being part of the conversation.”

However, it seems likely that in the near future Nike will reevaluate its membership in the US Chamber of Commerce altogether. The Chamber has come under fire for its efforts to put climate-change science on public trial. The fact that Nike is a founding member of the pro-climate law coalition, Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy, demonstrates the company’s longstanding commitment to responsible environmental policy. Therefore it’s not surprising that Nike stuck to its decision to leave the board despite the Chamber’s attempt to soften its position by claiming that it supported federal legislation on climate change, just not the Waxman-Markey bill, which passed the US House in June.