Most Salient Environmental Threats and Opportunities Facing Apple Inc.

The Socio-Political Compass
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The Socio-Political Compass
Environmental threats and opportunities (ETOP) refer to how organizations monitor their operational environment to identify the opportunities and threats that affect their business to make strategic decisions. Every organization has specific environmental factors that influence its operation. In addition, each of the entities also has particular opportunities that they can utilize to overcome the challenges. The organization’s success depends on how well it can utilize its opportunities to overcome the challenges. Apple Inc.’s most significant environmental issue affecting its operations is the disposal of used and dead electronic devices. The expenses involved in disposing of these devices can be high, especially those containing batteries. 
Threats
Apple published a paper and packaging strategy, white paper, in which it boasted of successfully eliminating some grams of paper and plastic from the manufacture of its product packaging. It promised to replace it with robust wood-derived packaging. This move was an excellent strategy that would help set the pace for environmental conservation in the technology sector. However, a critical overview of this strategy implies that consumers will be forced to throw devices in the dustbin prematurely as they become challenging to repair. 
These devices are made of precious minerals that are more expensive to mine both in terms of the environmental impact and the human labor involved in transforming all those products from raw materials into finished products. Thus, the decision by the company to choose natural materials initially appeared to be environmentally friendly.
Still, it turned out to be more dangerous for the environment in the long run. E-waste has become a significant source of pollution from different quarters, which results from the use of non-upgraded materials that are difficult to repair (Veksler, 2017). While the company presents itself as contributing towards environmental preservation, the truth is that the e-waste fills up landfills, and even in cases where a product is recycled, a lot of energy is involved, which makes it difficult to recover the energy and other materials resources that were used in creating some of its components. The materials that the company cannot recycle are deposited in landfills. Besides, separating electronics from other types of consumer waste is quite an intensive exercise that requires extensive investment in human resources. 
Opportunities
Apple Inc. has several opportunities that it can use to restore its image on environmental pollution. The most direct way is to reduce carbon materials and prioriti...