Apple shows an impressive commitment to sustainability, particularly when it comes to clean energy.
Today, it revealed that it has almost doubled the number of suppliers committed to running their Apple production on 100% clean energy. This brings the total number to 44. It means that Apple will exceed — by 1 gigawatt — its goal of bringing 4 gigawatts of renewable energy into its supply chain by 2020.
“Every time one of our suppliers joins us in our efforts to address climate change, we move closer to a better future for the next generation,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, in a statment. “We’ve made it a priority to hold our suppliers accountable to the same environmental standards we observe and hope that our collaboration will show others what is possible. While we are proud of our announcement today, we won’t stop driving change within our industry to support the clean energy transition happening globally.”
The news comes a year after Apple announced that all of its global facilities are now powered by 100% renewables. By bringing its suppliers on board, Apple is making a major statement about the kinds of businesses it wants to work with. Since manufacturing makes up 74 percent of Apple’s carbon footprint, this is a pretty significant development.
2018 marks the third year in a row that Apple has reduced its overall carbon footprint. Major Apple manufacturers that have committed to clean energy include TSMC, Pegatron, Quanta Computer, Foxconn, Compal, and others.
What a turnaround!
Apple’s environmental efforts are even more impressive when you consider how Apple used to be. Environment agency Greenpeace once seemed like it was a sworn enemy of the Cupertino company. Under Tim Cook’s leadership, however, Apple has embraced everything from sustainable packaging to eliminating conflict minerals in its products. In doing so, it’s setting an example for the rest of the tech world to try and follow.
Cook has been outspoken about his commitment to the environment while at Apple, noting that he wants the company to be a “force for good” in the world. He has also told bottom line-driven investors to “get out of [Apple] stock” if they aren’t willing to get on board with the company’s green agenda.
Source: Apple
