Cupertino, California based technology giant Apple shared its commitment become carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030. The company is already carbon neutral today for its global corporate operations, and this new commitment means that by 2030, every Apple device sold will have net-zero climate impact.
“Businesses have a profound opportunity to help build a more sustainable future, one born of our common concern for the planet we share,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The innovations powering our environmental journey are not only good for the planet — they’ve helped us make our products more energy-efficient and bring new sources of clean energy online around the world. Climate action can be the foundation for a new era of innovative potential, job creation, and durable economic growth. With our commitment to carbon neutrality, we hope to be a ripple in the pond that creates a much larger change.”
In its 2020 Environmental Progress Report, Apple outlines plans to reduce emissions by 75 per cent by 2030. The company is working to achieve this by developing innovative carbon removal solutions for the remaining 25 per cent of its comprehensive footprint.
Apple’s 10-year roadmap includes expanding energy efficiency. The company will identify new ways to lower energy use at is corporate facilities and help its supply chain make the same transition. The number of facilities participating in Apple’s Supplier Energy Efficiency Program grew to 92 in 2019. The company pointed out that these facilities made a massive difference by avoiding over 779,000 annualised metric tons of supply chain carbon emissions.
Moreover, Apple is establishing an Impact Accelerator. It will focus on investing in minority-owned businesses that drive positive outcomes in its supply chain and in communities that are disproportionately affected by environmental hazards. The Accelerator is part and parcel of Apple’s ‘$100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative’.
Apple will remain 100 per cent renewable energy for its operations. It will achieve this by creating new projects and moving its entire supply chain to clean power. And globally, the company is ready to launch one of the largest new solar arrays in Scandinavia. Apple also has two new projects in the pipeline to provide power to underserved communities in the Philippines and Thailand.
The company is also investing in forests and other nature-based solutions around the world to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
