Apple is no longer advertising the Mac mini and Apple Watch as Carbon Neutral

Apple’s environmental messaging is shifting, even as its sustainability goals remain in place. Following its September event, the company quietly removed “carbon neutral” labels from its Apple Watch and Mac mini pages worldwide, marking a change in how it markets products rather than in how they are made.

Until recently, Apple promoted certain Apple Watch models and the M4 Mac mini as its first carbon-neutral devices, highlighting clean energy in manufacturing, recycled materials, and reduced reliance on air freight. The label is now absent from Apple’s site and packaging, including on the newly released Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra 3.

The decision reflects growing regulatory pressure in Europe. A new EU law set to take effect in 2026 will prohibit companies from using terms like “carbon neutral” in marketing, while a recent German court ruling barred Apple from applying the phrase to the Apple Watch after challenges from environmental groups. Critics argue that carbon offset projects—such as large-scale tree plantations—can mask ongoing emissions and even threaten biodiversity.

Apple insists the removal of the label does not signal a retreat. Executives have stressed that the company is still targeting carbon neutrality across its supply chain by 2030, and Apple says its latest products meet the same sustainability benchmarks as those previously branded carbon neutral. The change, it argues, is about clarity and compliance, not a shift in direction.

The company’s broader environmental commitments remain in focus: expanding renewable energy, scaling recycled materials, and tightening logistics to reduce emissions. Apple may no longer use the phrase “carbon neutral” in its marketing, but the strategy behind those claims is still central to how it plans to shape its products over the next decade.