Earlier this month, Apple Inc. (AAPL) withdrew its products from being certified by the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), which certifies over 95% of electronics in the U.S by a requirement by the government. AAPL’s 39 products under EPEAT’s were pulled without question, however, the company has now taken steps to address the media and the public on the parameters of its decision by issuing a letter.

In a letter from SVP of Hardware Engineering Bob Mansfield, the company revealed that they are putting all eligible products back on EPEAT. Apple defended their decision to withdraw a few days ago, pointing out that withdrawing from EPEAT did not change the environmental credibility of their products. In a report from The Loop, Apple defended their decision and made their comments public.

Apple takes a comprehensive approach to measuring our environmental impact and all of our products meet the strictest energy efficiency standards backed by the US government, Energy Star 5.2. We also lead the industry by reporting each product’s greenhouse gas emissions on our website, and Apple products are superior in other important environmental areas not measured by EPEAT, such as removal of toxic materials.

In the letter, Mansfield addressed the company’s decision to withdraw from EPEAT certification and said that it “was a mistake” to do so. Mansfield also mentioned in the report that “all eligible Apple products are back on EPEAT”.

We’ve recently heard from many loyal Apple customers who were disappointed to learn that we had removed our products from the EPEAT rating system. I recognize that this was a mistake. Starting today, all eligible Apple products are back on EPEAT.

It’s important to know that our commitment to protecting the environment has never changed, and today it is as strong as ever. Apple makes the most environmentally responsible products in our industry. In fact, our engineering teams have worked incredibly hard over the years to make our products even more environmentally friendly, and much of our progress has come in areas not yet measured by EPEAT.

This means that products that meet a standard of disassembly can be certified by EPEAT, and as a result, Apple’s new Retina MacBook Pro might not qualify. It is interesting to note Apple’s approach in issuing a statement through Mansfield as opposed to one from CEO Tim Cook, likely to assure the public that the right steps were being taken to rectify the company’s products under EPEAT.

{via 9to5Mac}

However, the iPad launch in stores in the UK is still going ahead on the 28th of May and customers will be able to walk into stores and pick one up then. Presumably after queuing for a while. The Regents Street Apple store says it expects customers to camp outside overnight to ensure getting their “Jesus Tablet”.

Whilst one can understand that Apple would like to have some in-store stock for such an important launch, this seems a little hard on customers who have already ordered their device online, shown their loyalty to Apple, and agreed to wait until the 7th of June to get their iPad that others now may well be able buy over a week earlier.

I know if I was one of the customers with an outstanding order I’d seriously consider cancelling my order before, or perhaps after, I had a go at getting one from an Apple store on the 28th. I am assuming that Apple have not charged anyone in the UK prior to dispatch, which is normally the case.

I am sure Apple won’t mind people doing that. But it would have been nice if they had been upfront about it.

What do you think? Is Apple being a little dismissive of online customers in the UK? Let us know in the comments…