A woman holds her new Apple iPhone 5S after buying it at an Apple Store at Tokyo's Ginza shopping district
A woman holds her new Apple iPhone 5S after buying it at an Apple Store at Tokyo's Ginza shopping district September 20, 2013. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Apple Inc has become a favorite stock of environmental mutual funds due to the company's efforts to "go green." Environment-conscious mutual fund managers are taking notice of Apple stock as it strives to become a socially and environmentally responsible company.

According to Reuters, Apple has become one of the top holdings of environmentally conscious mutual funds. The company's stock has been on the rise with an increase of 15 per cent so far within the year. Reports said the company ranks 19th based on gains among the S&P 100 index.

Apple's stock is also one of the top investments of various major funds which include the Green Century Balanced Fund, Parnassus and the Calvert Equity Portfolio. Reuters said Apple Inc is the third biggest holding of Pax World Balanced Fund.

Data was obtained by tracking 72 different funds that use environmental criteria when making decisions about investments. According to Lipper, investors placed $1.9 billion in environmental funds for 12 months that ended on April 30. Lipper chief Tom Roseen said the investment may only be a "small" portion of the entire U.S. equity fund but it was considered significant since it's a 5 per cent inflow.

After Apple's stock price dropped 85 per cent after the split, the stock has become a more attractive investment. Before Apple made the announcement, shares fell 6.5 per cent compared to the previous year. After April 23, the stock has rallied to and even surpassed the $600 mark, which is a price not seen since 2012.

Apple's biggest growth driver may rely on the next generation iPhone, the iPhone 6 with its rumoured big screen, to finally go head to head with popular Android phones. The company is expected to release a 4.7-inch and a 5.5-inch version of the next iPhone in September.

According to the managers of green mutual funds, Apple has become more environmentally friendly and earned high scores from Greenpeace and other environmental organisations. Apple has created policies to recycle more products and use solar energy to run its large data farms.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously said that investors who were more interested in shareholder returns than the environment should sell their Apple stock.