September 12, 2023
PRESS RELEASE
Apple unveils its first carbon impartial merchandise
The brand new Apple Watch lineup marks main progress towards formidable Apple 2030 local weather purpose
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple right now introduced its first-ever carbon impartial merchandise within the all-new Apple Watch lineup. Improvements in design and clear power have pushed dramatic reductions in product emissions of over 75 p.c for every carbon impartial Apple Watch.1 This milestone marks a serious step within the firm’s journey towards its formidable Apple 2030 purpose to make each product carbon impartial by the tip of the last decade, together with all the world provide chain and the lifetime use of each system Apple makes.
As a part of Apple 2030 and the corporate’s broader environmental efforts, Apple has additionally ended using leather-based throughout all of its product strains, introduced its first totally fiber-based packaging for the brand new Apple Watch lineup,2 and continued to develop using recycled supplies in iPhone. The corporate additionally launched a brand new instrument within the Dwelling app referred to as Grid Forecast,3 which helps inform customers when their energy grid has cleaner power obtainable, to allow them to determine when to make use of electrical energy.
“At Apple, we now have a longstanding and confirmed dedication to main the struggle towards local weather change. Our give attention to renewable power and low-carbon design has already pushed industry-leading emissions reductions, and we’re not slowing down,” mentioned Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vp of Surroundings, Coverage, and Social Initiatives. “We’ve achieved an essential milestone in making the world’s hottest watch carbon impartial — and we’ll maintain innovating to fulfill the urgency of the second.”
Each Product Carbon Impartial by 2030
Apple has adopted a transparent and rigorous method to product decarbonization that prioritizes lowering greenhouse gasoline emissions from the three greatest sources throughout the product life cycle: electrical energy, supplies, and transportation. Solely after Apple steeply cuts product emissions, will the corporate apply high-quality carbon credit from nature-based initiatives for emissions that can’t but be prevented or diminished with present options.
Every carbon impartial Apple Watch mannequin meets the next strict standards: one hundred pc clear electrical energy for manufacturing and product use, 30 p.c recycled or renewable materials by weight, and 50 p.c of delivery with out using air transportation.4 These mixed efforts lead to a minimum of a 75 p.c discount in product emissions for every mannequin. The corporate will use high-quality carbon credit to handle the small quantity of remaining emissions, leading to a carbon impartial product footprint. Each carbon impartial Apple Watch — which incorporates any aluminum Collection 9 and SE fashions when paired with a brand new Sport Loop, and Apple Watch Extremely 2 when paired with a brand new Path Loop or Alpine Loop — is licensed by SCS International Companies, a pacesetter in environmental requirements and certification.
The Path to 2030
Apple’s first carbon impartial merchandise are the results of years of serious work and innovation throughout the corporate and its world provide chain. Additionally they signify the most recent step on a journey that started over a decade in the past.
In 2020, Apple achieved carbon neutrality for its world company operations and introduced Apple 2030: a daring technique to be carbon impartial throughout its whole worth chain by 2030. Apple’s plan facilities on an aggressive 75 p.c discount in total carbon emissions from 2015 ranges. By avoiding actions that generate carbon, considerably increasing renewable power throughout the corporate’s company operations and provide chain, and designing with recycled and renewable supplies, Apple has to this point diminished whole emissions by over 45 p.c since 2015, whereas nonetheless rising income by over 65 p.c in the identical interval.
As Apple accelerates efforts to decarbonize its worth chain, each product represents a chance to cut back emissions — from the electrical energy used for manufacturing and charging units, to supplies and delivery.
Spurring Progress in Clear Electrical energy
All manufacturing for the carbon impartial Apple Watch fashions is powered by one hundred pc clear electrical energy by way of investments and sourcing by Apple and its suppliers. Moreover, each provider that manufactures elements and parts for these fashions has dedicated to one hundred pc renewable electrical energy for all of their Apple manufacturing by the tip of the last decade. Apple additionally works with manufacturing companions around the globe to advocate for insurance policies that assist wider deployment of unpolluted power options.
Apple started constructing and investing in large-scale photo voltaic and wind farms to energy its knowledge facilities and workplaces over a decade in the past. In 2015, the corporate began working with its manufacturing companions to assist them create and put money into their very own photo voltaic and wind initiatives, and supply renewable power for all Apple manufacturing. Since 2018, all of Apple’s company workplaces, knowledge facilities, and retail shops worldwide have been powered by renewable electrical energy.
Thanks to those mixed efforts, Apple and its world suppliers assist greater than 15 gigawatts of unpolluted power around the globe right now — sufficient to energy over 5 million American houses. Throughout all product strains, greater than 300 world suppliers — representing over 90 p.c of Apple’s direct manufacturing spend — have now joined Apple’s Provider Clear Power Program, committing to one hundred pc renewable electrical energy for all Apple manufacturing by the tip of this decade.
Electrical energy for manufacturing and charging units represents the most important supply of Apple’s emissions throughout all product strains. To deal with the latter, Apple has dedicated to put money into large-scale photo voltaic and wind initiatives around the globe. For the carbon impartial Apple Watch fashions, the corporate will match one hundred pc of shoppers’ anticipated electrical energy use for charging.
Innovating in Low-Carbon Design
Apple has pioneered using many key recycled supplies in its merchandise by way of world-class product engineering, intensive design qualification, and provide chain experience. The brand new merchandise introduced right now construct on these achievements.
To additional scale back affect on the planet, Apple is ending using leather-based throughout all of its product strains, together with iPhone equipment and Apple Watch bands. The corporate will substitute leather-based with a brand new textile referred to as FineWoven, a chic and sturdy twill made out of 68 p.c post-consumer recycled content material. FineWoven affords a refined luster and a delicate, suedelike really feel, and is offered on iPhone MagSafe circumstances and wallets in addition to the Magnetic Hyperlink and Trendy Buckle Apple Watch bands.
As recycled and renewable supplies usually have a decrease carbon footprint than main supplies, Apple’s industry-leading progress in using recycled content material additionally advances the corporate’s Apple 2030 purpose. The brand new FineWoven materials has considerably decrease emissions in comparison with the extra carbon-intensive leather-based, and each the brand new iPhone 15 and the Apple Watch lineups advance progress towards the corporate’s 2025 targets for using one hundred pc recycled metals in key parts. This contains one hundred pc recycled uncommon earth magnets and the corporate’s first use of one hundred pc recycled cobalt within the battery of iPhone 15, Apple Watch Collection 9, and Apple Watch Extremely 2.5 Moreover, the favored Sport Loop has been redesigned with 82 p.c recycled yarn, which incorporates materials from discarded fishing nets. Clients seeking to improve to the brand new carbon impartial Apple Watch fashions can benefit from Apple Commerce In, and Apple will refurbish the system for a brand new proprietor, or recycle it totally free.
Apple can be accelerating progress towards plastic-free packaging by 2025. Along with attaining the primary one hundred pc fiber-based packaging for the brand new Apple Watch and band lineup, the packaging for each iPhone 15 mannequin is over 99 p.c fiber-based.
Decreasing Transportation Emissions
Transporting merchandise around the globe makes up about 9 p.c of Apple’s complete carbon footprint. The corporate is shifting extra product quantity to delivery modes which might be much less carbon-intensive than air transport, akin to ocean or rail. Apple’s carbon footprint methodology exhibits that delivery the identical product by ocean emits 95 p.c fewer emissions than by air.
For the carbon impartial Apple Watch fashions, together with watches and bands, the corporate will ship a minimum of 50 p.c of the mixed weight utilizing non-air modes, slicing whole transportation emissions practically in half. Moreover, the packaging of all Apple Watch Collection 9 and SE fashions has been redesigned for compactness, with a brand new, smaller form that enables for 25 p.c extra units per cargo.
On the similar time, Apple is dedicated to supporting broader efforts to decarbonize delivery industries, akin to by being a member of the First Movers Coalition, and by supporting analysis to determine pathways for creating sustainable aviation fuels. The corporate additionally seeks out technical improvements — together with using various fuels and electrical autos — and selects distributors that provide low-carbon choices to assist additional drive decarbonization within the {industry}.
Investing in Excessive-High quality Carbon Removing
After attaining steep reductions in product emissions, Apple plans to cowl residual emissions with high-quality carbon credit primarily from nature-based initiatives that take away carbon from the ambiance, like restoring grasslands, wetlands, and forests. Carbon removing is important to addressing local weather change and attaining world local weather targets, as main scientific our bodies just like the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Local weather Change have emphasised.
Apple defines high-quality credit as these from initiatives which might be actual, further, measurable, and quantified, with methods in place to keep away from double-counting, and that guarantee permanence. Apple has helped advance pure carbon-removal options that meet this definition by creating the modern Restore Fund, which presently helps initiatives in Latin America. The corporate makes use of credit from initiatives which might be licensed to worldwide requirements akin to Verra; the Local weather, Group & Biodiversity Requirements; and the Forest Stewardship Council.
For the carbon impartial Apple Watch fashions, the high-quality carbon credit used to compensate for the remaining emissions will come from initiatives just like the Restore Fund’s investments with Arbaro Advisors and BTG Pactual Timberland Funding Group, that are serving to to revive and shield high-quality working forests and native ecosystems in Paraguay and Brazil.
Introducing Grid Forecast
As Apple decarbonizes its worth chain, the corporate can be dedicated to participating with prospects and creating know-how that helps them perceive and tackle their environmental affect.
Grid Forecast is a brand new instrument within the Dwelling app on Apple units that exhibits when a consumer’s electrical grid has comparatively cleaner or much less clear power sources obtainable. For instance, there are occasions when wind and photo voltaic initiatives produce extra power than the grid can use, resulting in a few of it being wasted. There are additionally instances when electrical energy is being generated with decrease emissions. By utilizing electrical energy throughout these cleaner instances, prospects could decrease the local weather affect of the electrical energy they use at house.
Apple makes use of knowledge that mixes grid, emissions, and climate data into one, easy-to-follow sign. This may also help individuals make selections about the most effective time to run massive home equipment and cost electrical autos or units all through the day. Within the contiguous United States, Grid Forecast is offered within the Dwelling app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, and will be added as an iOS widget or a watch face complication. As further knowledge turns into obtainable by way of ongoing {industry} collaboration, Apple will proceed refining Grid Forecast to maximise affect.
Past its 2030 purpose, Apple can be working towards a 90 p.c discount in emissions by 2050 — which requires advocating for collective motion from governments, companies, and people to speed up world progress within the struggle towards local weather change.
For extra data on Apple’s 2030 local weather purpose and the environmental affect of Apple merchandise, go to apple.com/2030.
About Apple
Apple revolutionized private know-how with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Right this moment, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apple’s 5 software program platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS — present seamless experiences throughout all Apple units and empower individuals with breakthrough companies together with the App Retailer, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apple’s greater than 100,000 workers are devoted to creating the most effective merchandise on earth, and to leaving the world higher than we discovered it.
- Carbon reductions are calculated towards a baseline situation: No use of unpolluted electrical energy for manufacturing or product use, past what’s already obtainable on the grid; Apple’s carbon depth of key supplies as of 2015; and Apple’s common mixture of transportation modes by product line throughout three years.
- The breakdown of U.S. retail packaging is by weight. Adhesives, inks, and coatings are excluded from calculations of plastic content material and packaging weight.
- Grid Forecast shall be obtainable within the contiguous United States.
- 50 p.c or extra of all carbon impartial merchandise by whole weight are deliberate, as of product launch, to be shipped utilizing non-air modes of transportation — like ocean freight — from the manufacturing facility to their subsequent vacation spot over the lifetime of the merchandise.
- All cobalt content material claims are based mostly on a mass stability allocation.
Press Contacts
Sean Redding
Apple
s_redding@apple.com
Apple Media Helpline
media.help@apple.com
