Apple's sustainable competitive advantage and innovation

多伦多大学代写essay范文:“Apple's sustainable competitive advantage and innovation”，这篇论文主要描述的是在现如今的市场竞争中企业如何保持着产品的创新和可持续的竞争优势是企业赖以生存的重要因素，本文以苹果公司为例，苹果公司调查发现客户需要的是功能齐全价格实惠且不影响健康的产品，因此苹果公司的创新也就围绕着环境保护减少有毒物质排放来进行。

Apple's sustainable competitive advantage and innovation

The next area where the innovation helps Apple to gain competitive advantage is social legitimacy achieved through the adoption of sustainable practices. Apple understands that in today’s market customers are not only looking for products which functions well and which are cheaper but they recognition to social value and the health implication of using a particular innovation.

Customers are attracted to product which does not expose them to unnecessary sickness either in the short term or long term after using a product. Apart from the fact that customers look for products which are superior in the above areas, the government and the international community are strict in ensuring that companies adopt policies and programs which does not compromise on the quality of the environment which may ultimately contribute to emission of poisonous substances in the atmosphere and endangering the lives of many people (Gehlhar, et.al 2009). The computer industry is one the sector which is often criticised for using a lot of poisonous gases and substances. Apple is aware of this and therefore it is using innovation to overcome these challenges. Specifically, Apple continuously improves on the kind of effects which its product will have on the environment (Roger, 2004).

For example in its annual reports in 2007-2008 Apple reported on its choice of environmentally friendly suppliers whose operations are continuously reviewed on a yearly basis to see if they are consistent with the demand of the company. This helps Apple to ensure that the kind of material which they are using are more friendly to the environment and that suppliers have given adequate consideration of the health implications before supplying them. 

In addition, Apple’s product-specific environmental reports has more detailed  information on how the company adopts m innovative practices to conserve and manage competitors, efficient use of energy, risk free materials and packaging, and the new policy  not to avoid the use of restricted substances, and recycling.  The reason why the company had to upgrade and re launch a new Apple iPad 2 tablets was because the existing one had materials which had hazardous components that exceeded the strict European Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment. In the new one, the company dedicated not to use mercury in its display, and also avoid using arsenic in its glass. The new a product also the company dropping the use of brominates flame retardants (BFRs  and polyvinyl chloride (PVCs).

In 2011, the Carbon Disclosure Project revealed that Apple and nine others that have been tagged as those having the largest market caps in emission hazardous substances were contradicting the practice of sustainability by expanding rapidly without plans to get increase the sources of energy, power and electricity but this was debunked by Apple who instead showed evidence of its approval to build a 20-megawatt facility (solar power) for its data centre in North Carolina (Gehlhar, et.al 2009). With this the company was initiative the process of making all of its production sites use renewable power sources by the end of 2012. All of these have come because of Apple’s commitment to innovation that takes account of the health of those who will the ultimately consumers of the products. This is not the only areas where innovation has helped Apple to get some advancement in sustainability

In 2011, Apple redefined the objectives of its sustainability by factoring its new sustainable technologies and innovative practices to ensure the reduction of their operations on the environment through products improvements.   

In 2011, Apple Company reported that it had used fewer materials than any other year and chose to use smaller packages that do not have any toxic substances to ship their products. Though effective innovation which has culminated in better revenue growth Apple was able to have grown its greenhouse gas emissions per dollar by 15.4 percent and this was the highest since 2008. In addition by 2011, all of Apple’s product line exceeded the strict energy guidelines and specifications of the ENERGY STAR (Gehlhar, et.al 2009) 

For one decade since 2002, the designers and engineers at Apple  have been committed themselves to innovative project that have led to the pioneering of thinner, smaller and lighter products which emits very few carbon emissions. 

A typical example is the 21.5-inch iMac which has a very powerful and larger screen than the first-generation 15-inch iMac but through innovative competences, it has been designed with only 50% of the materials that was used to design the first one and these materials generate 50% less emissions. Even the iPad became 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter in just one generation, producing 5 percent fewer carbon emissions (Hoek et al., 2008).

When it comes to the removal of toxic substances, Apple is again developing a lot of technology and innovative product made from substances with limited environmental impact. The use materials like plastic, glass, and metal, paper and ink which have all been pursued to reduce or eliminate any environmentally harmful substances from them. Today, Apple has completed eliminated the use of the use of toxic substances such as arsenic,  mercury, brominated flame retardants, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and phthalates in their products.

It is not only is every product that Apple is selling that is free of BFRs and other harmful toxins, Apple has qualified a lot of components which are  free of elemental bromine and chlorine, This has put Apple far ahead of  their competitors in the industry. In addition, every display Apple make whether it is built into a system or available as a stand-alone is free from mercury LED backlighting and arsenic-free glass (Gehlhar, et.al 2009).

Because the company has developed innovative products and process, they have become very attractive because they are less involved in social scandals.

This was one of the challenges which faced Apple o some time ago in the past especially in the eastern part of the world where it labour practices and other things were questioned. These have all being leveraged significantly even though not completely uprooted and the company has gained much social legitimacy that other organisation which have not been able to do the same.