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April 18, 2024
UPDATE
Apple cuts greenhouse fuel emissions in half
Improvements in clear power, supplies, and recycling are driving progress towards Apple’s bold environmental objectives
Apple has decreased its total greenhouse fuel emissions by greater than 55 p.c since 2015, the corporate shared right now in its 2024 Environmental Progress Report. The milestone marks necessary progress on the journey towards Apple 2030, the corporate’s bold purpose to develop into carbon impartial throughout its total worth chain by the tip of this decade. The purpose facilities on reducing emissions by 75 p.c from 2015 ranges.
“The proof of Apple’s dedication to local weather motion is in our progress: We’ve slashed emissions by greater than half, all whereas serving extra customers than ever earlier than,” stated Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice chairman of Surroundings, Coverage, and Social Initiatives. “Extra laborious work is forward of us, and we’re targeted on harnessing the facility of innovation and collaboration to maximise our affect.”
Groups throughout Apple and its world provide chain have contributed to Apple 2030 and the corporate’s environmental efforts, driving improvements in clear power and power effectivity, supplies, carbon removing, water stewardship, zero waste, and recycling. As Apple celebrates Earth Day with its prospects world wide — together with by means of curated environment-focused collections on podcasts, books, and extra — right here’s a take a look at 10 improvements, partnerships, and actions participating prospects and advancing world local weather and environmental progress.
Paving the Manner for Recycled Crucial Supplies
Apple’s work towards making merchandise utilizing solely recycled and renewable supplies has spurred innovation in sourcing and design — whereas driving main reductions within the firm’s carbon footprint. This contains supplies vital to the clear power transition. Final yr, 56 p.c of the cobalt shipped in Apple batteries got here from recycled sources, greater than double the yr earlier than.1 That features the MacBook Air with M3, the first-ever Apple product to be made with 50 p.c recycled materials. And in one other first, 24 p.c of the lithium shipped in Apple batteries final yr got here from licensed recycled sources. For each lithium and cobalt, Apple is sourcing from post-industrial scrap and post-consumer scrap from end-of-life batteries. The corporate has additionally made strides with copper, utilizing one hundred pc recycled copper in key thermal purposes in iPhone 15 and the 16-inch MacBook Professional, in addition to the Taptic Engine and printed circuit boards throughout many product traces within the final yr. The progress demonstrates actual potential for recycling to assist meet the rising demand for vital supplies sooner or later.
Slashing Manufacturing Emissions with Suppliers
The continuing transition to scrub electrical energy throughout Apple’s provide chain has pushed the vast majority of emissions reductions to date, with Apple’s Provider Clear Power Program now supporting over 16.5 gigawatts of renewable power world wide. And by prioritizing power effectivity in collaboration with Apple, greater than 100 provider amenities achieved over 2 billion kilowatt-hours of electrical energy financial savings final yr. Along with further power financial savings — primarily related to warmth — these amenities averted almost 1.7 million metric tons of carbon emissions, up 25 p.c from 2022. Apple can be working to deal with the direct local weather affect of business processes, such because the manufacturing of flat-panel shows, which emits extremely potent fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-GHGs). Each show provider has dedicated to a excessive commonplace of F-GHG abatement, and Apple is participating with them to trace emissions and deploy state-of-the-art abatement gear at manufacturing websites.
Designing to Take away Plastic
Apple’s journey to take away plastic from its packaging is fueled by innovation, utilizing fiber-based plastic alternate options that also present an unmatched unboxing expertise for patrons. Within the final yr, Apple reached a milestone with the discharge of its first-ever one hundred pc fiber-based packaging within the new Apple Watch lineup and for Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional. Throughout each product Apple shipped final yr, solely 3 p.c of the packaging was made out of plastic. Groups proceed to innovate — this week, Apple printed a brand new white paper with the University of British Columbia’s BioProducts Institute that analyzes the challenges with present client packaging and explores extra sustainable future options by means of the usage of superior fiber-based supplies. And in partnership with RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Apple introduced the event of a fiber-based various to the protecting foams extensively utilized in many sorts of packaging.
Partnering with Communities to Drive Change
As Apple accelerates work to deal with local weather change, the corporate can be targeted on supporting efforts led by communities experiencing disproportionate impacts. By way of its Strengthen Native Communities program, Apple is offering a sequence of latest grants to organizations worldwide which are taking motion to guard the well being and wellbeing of their communities. Within the U.S., Apple can be supporting the expansion of Justice Outdoors’s Community for Community Leaders program to advertise the outside, environmental schooling, and environmental justice. Apple has additionally labored with the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya to assist water harvesting and climate-smart agriculture by funding a rainwater catchment system on the Lewa college in Mutunyi and drip irrigation kits for farmers working to encourage extra sustainable agriculture practices of their communities. This yr, the corporate will construct on this work with new assist for Lewa’s neighborhood water entry applications. And in Australia, Apple will prolong its funding for the Karrkad Kanjdji Belief (KKT), a corporation led by the normal homeowners of Warddeken and Djelk Indigenous protected areas. Apple’s grant will assist KKT’s Indigenous Ladies Rangers Program and conservation actions throughout the protected areas.
Spurring Industrywide Change with Reusable Filters
As a part of the corporate’s dedication to zero waste, final yr Apple accomplished the set up of reusable air filters at each considered one of its information facilities worldwide. The shift avoids sending 25 tons of soiled filters to landfills annually — sufficient to fill a whole soccer area — and cuts fan power use by 35 p.c. Working collectively starting in 2019 at Apple’s Reno information heart, Apple and automotive filtration and expertise firm Okay&N prototyped and examined 20 variations of an all-new reusable filter design to satisfy excessive requirements of efficiency and effectivity. At the moment the reusable filters are rapidly changing into commonplace, not only for Apple however industrywide. Improvements like this have contributed to vital progress: Within the final 5 years, Apple elevated the diversion charge from its information facilities from 64 p.c to 90 p.c.
Innovating for the Way forward for Recycling
Apple has engineered totally new applied sciences to advance the sphere of electronics recycling — together with disassembly robotic Daisy, which may now take aside 29 fashions of iPhone into 15 discrete parts, and recycling machines Dave and Taz, which at the moment are deployed with a recycling companion in China. This yr, Apple launched a brand new product sorter to its asset restoration heart in California, with the purpose of automating the method to enhance effectivity and productiveness. Apple is dedicated to sharing the expertise with recycling companions world wide as a low-cost, time-saving answer. As an extra effectivity enchancment, the asset restoration heart now employs autonomous cellular robots to assist transport merchandise and parts across the facility. By way of educational partnerships with establishments similar to Carnegie Mellon, the corporate can be working to additional harness the facility of synthetic intelligence, machine studying, robotics, and automation in recycling.
Constructing for a Greener Future
Apple’s dedication to design with the setting in thoughts extends past merchandise and contains the development of its buildings. At the moment, greater than 100 of Apple’s retail shops, company places of work, and information facilities worldwide are licensed by means of Management in Power and Environmental Design (LEED), and Constructing Analysis Institution Environmental Evaluation Methodology (BREEAM), two internationally revered accreditation processes for sustainable buildings. The quantity continues to develop — presently, Apple is creating greater than 18 million sq. toes of inexperienced constructing area globally. In 2023, a constructing in Apple’s Culver Metropolis, California, campus achieved LEED Platinum standing, the best attainable ranking, for vital power and water financial savings, renewable energy, and waste diversion. And the brand new Apple Battersea campus and retail retailer, positioned in London’s historic Battersea Energy Station, diverted 99 p.c of development waste from landfill, whereas using sustainable design components and low-carbon supplies.
Investing in Nature with Excessive-High quality Carbon Removing Tasks
Within the roadmap to realize its Apple 2030 local weather purpose, Apple is prioritizing direct emissions reductions throughout all operations and its provide chain. For residual emissions which are tough to keep away from with right now’s obtainable options, the corporate is investing in high-quality, nature-based carbon tasks, together with by means of its progressive Restore Fund. Constructing on a powerful portfolio of sustainable forestry tasks in partnership with Goldman Sachs and Conservation Worldwide, Apple has launched a brand new part of the Restore Fund with Local weather Asset Administration, targeted on making a portfolio that swimming pools regenerative agriculture tasks with ecosystem conservation and restoration tasks. This yr, Apple suppliers TSMC and Murata joined the fund’s second part with their very own funding commitments. And right now Apple is asserting the primary set of regenerative agriculture tasks the fund has invested in, which incorporates the event of olive and almond farms in Portugal, an almond farm in Spain, and a farm in Australia that’s being transformed from sugarcane to macadamias. The tasks adhere to strict protocols to make sure water safety and effectivity, and make use of confirmed measures to enhance soil high quality and promote biodiversity.
Participating Prospects and Staff in International Recycling
Final yr, almost 12.8 million units and equipment had been despatched to new homeowners by means of AppleCare and applications like Apple Commerce In — greater than ever earlier than. As of right now, iPhone 7 nonetheless affords Commerce In worth. Apple will responsibly recycle merchandise that not have worth, and get well the dear supplies inside to allow them to reside a brand new life in future merchandise. From reboxing outdated units to ship again to Apple, to organizing a set drive, to easily passing on an outdated iPhone to a member of the family, there are such a lot of methods prospects can contribute to Apple’s environmental objectives. Prospects can drop off their used Apple units at any Apple Retailer location, or by visiting apple.com/recycle.
Celebrating Earth Day with Training and Motion
Throughout Apple’s ecosystem, the corporate is providing alternatives for customers to coach themselves on local weather change and different environmental points, take significant motion of their communities, and rejoice Earth Day. On April 22, Apple Watch customers can earn a limited-edition award by finishing any exercise of half-hour or extra.
Prospects also can attend At the moment at Apple programming that includes environmental leaders and visionary organizations in choose Apple Retailer places worldwide. In all shops globally, Apple Retail may also host a Pop-Up Studio titled {Photograph} Earth Like a Professional on iPhone, demoing options like macro images and extra on iPhone 15. This yr, Apple will once more collaborate with Dolores Huerta, social justice advocate and founding father of the Dolores Huerta Basis, as a part of the Problem for Change studying sequence. Learners of all ages can take part within the problem Create a Better World Through Environmental Justice, which affords thought-provoking dialogue guides. And a brand new useful resource — 30 Artistic Actions to Assist the Surroundings — is designed to encourage new methods for folks to take motion of their communities.
On Earth Day and day-after-day, Apple is dedicated to taking motion to guard the planet and to encourage others — together with Apple prospects — to do the identical.
1. All cobalt and lithium within the battery claims or references are on a mass steadiness allocation.
Press Contacts
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Apple
Apple Media Helpline
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