--- description: Not afraid to value things more than mere profit title: Apple CEO Tim Cook Defends Company's Green Initiatives image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte942c3f38d5f9f32/698683cc810bbbb22ec9047c/rtx13ged.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Apple](/tag/apple/) ## Apple Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Apple CEO Tim Cook Is Increasingly Flexing His Muscles by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 4, 2014 12:13 PM CUT  Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook speaks from the stage during Apple Inc's media event in Cupertino, California September 10, 2013\. REUTERS/Stephen Lam (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS TELECOMS ENTERTAINMENT) - RTX13GED Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook speaks from the stage during Apple Inc's media event in Cupertino, California September 10, 2013\. REUTERS/Stephen Lam (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS TELECOMS ENTERTAINMENT) - RTX13GEDStephen Lam—Reuters by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 4, 2014 12:13 PM CUT Tim Cook is getting more comfortable channelling the Steve Jobs’s patented self-righteousness. At the company’s annual shareholders meeting last week, the Apple CEO chafed at a request that Apple commit to not engaging in environmental initiatives that don’t have a positive return on investment. The proposal came from a representative of the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank. Apple has a [publicly stated goal](https://www.apple.com/environment/renewable-energy/ "undefined") of powering all its facilities completely with renewable energy in the future, a policy that could weigh down the company’s profits. Upon receiving the question, Cook became “visibly agitated,” [according to the think tank](http://www.nationalcenter.org/PR-Apple%5FTim%5FCook%5FClimate%5F022814.html "undefined"), and defended Apple’s right to make business decisions that don’t always directly benefit the bottom line. “When we work on making our devices accessible by the blind, I don’t consider the bloody ROI,” Cook said, according to the [Mac Observer](http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/tim-cook-soundly-rejects-politics-of-the-ncppr-suggests-group-sell-apples-s "undefined"). “If you want me to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock.” The statement was the latest in a string of power-flexing moves by Apple and its CEO. The company resisted constant pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn to buy back $150 billion worth of its shares, and [actively campaigned](http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/12/28/apple-cook-icahn-proxy/ "undefined") to convince investors to vote against such a measure. Icahn backed off the proposal in February. Apple also pressured Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer last month to veto a bill that would have allowed businesses in the state to deny service to gays and lesbians for religious reasons. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/12164/apple-ceo-tim-cook-is-increasingly-flexing-his-muscles/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/12164/apple-ceo-tim-cook-is-increasingly-flexing-his-muscles/"},"headline":"Apple CEO Tim Cook Is Increasingly Flexing His Muscles","datePublished":"2014-03-04T12:13:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:33:45.830Z","description":"Not afraid to value things more than mere profit","url":"https://time.com/12164/apple-ceo-tim-cook-is-increasingly-flexing-his-muscles/","keywords":["Apple"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte942c3f38d5f9f32/698683cc810bbbb22ec9047c/rtx13ged.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte942c3f38d5f9f32/698683cc810bbbb22ec9047c/rtx13ged.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook speaks from the stage during Apple Inc's media event in Cupertino","caption":"Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook speaks from the stage during Apple Inc's media event in Cupertino","creditText":"Stephen Lam—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/apple/","name":"Apple"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/12164/apple-ceo-tim-cook-is-increasingly-flexing-his-muscles/","name":"Apple CEO Tim Cook Is Increasingly Flexing His Muscles"}}]}] ```