Apple environmental efforts

Apple said Wednesday it has tripled its use of clean energy since 2020, among other benchmarks of progress toward its goal to reach carbon neutrality across its supply chain by 2030. And on Thursday, the iPhone giant released its full 2024 Environmental Progress Report.

“Clean energy and water are foundational to healthy communities and essential building blocks for a responsible business,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives.

“We’re racing toward our ambitious Apple 2030 climate goal while taking on the long-term work to transform electrical grids and restore watersheds to build a cleaner future for all.”

UPDATE: Ahead of Earth Day on April 22, on Thursday Apple released its much more detailed 2024 Environmental Progress Report, laying out its progress on environmental initiatives related to Apple 2030. For example, the iPhone giant said its greenhouse gas emissions are down 55% since 2015.

Tim Cook and a surprisingly stone-cold Mother Nature had a staring contest at Apple Park during the Wonderlust event Tuesday. And in Apple’s telling, Tim Cook won.

He played himself in the keynote segment while Octavia Spencer, star of the canceled Truth Be Told on Apple TV+, played a feisty Mother Nature taking executives to task on environmental-initiative progress.

But in the end she chilled out, because Apple had some progress to show, including its first carbon-neutral products.

A new rumor claims Apple could discontinue all its silicone-based accessories this week, replacing them with more eco-friendly materials.

The company strives to reduce the impact of its products on the environment, and this could be the latest move on that front.

Apple set up its third Impact Accelerator class to help 12 minority-owned green-technology and clean-energy companies develop their businesses, the company said Wednesday.

The training program, in this case for a dozen Black-, Hispanic/Latinx- and Indigenous-owned companies, is part of Cupertino’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative.

Apple committed itself to a new target to use 100% recycled cobalt in all Apple-designed batteries by 2025. And by that same year, the company will use only recycled rare earth elements in its magnets. In addition, it intends to make circuit boards with 100% recycled tin soldering and gold plating.

These commitments build on the company’s goal to eventually make all its products with only recycled and renewable materials.

With Earth Day coming up, Apple says it’s doubling its total commitment to “nature-based carbon removal projects” with an additional $200 million investment. In less technical terms, it’s backing projects to plant trees.

And it’s not just trees for trees’ sake. Part of Apple’s Restore Fund goes to agricultural projects that generate income from sustainably managed tree farms.

Apple and 250 companies that supply components for its products are making progress in switching to renewable energy for all Apple production by 2030. The manufacturing partners support over 13 gigawatts of renewable electricity per year, a nearly 30% increase.

The company continues to distribute money from its $4.7 billion Green Bonds program to help finance the expansion of clean energy solutions around the world.

iPhones will gain a new Clean Energy Charging option later this year as a part of an iOS 16 update, Apple said Monday.

The first-of-its-kind feature will strategically time when iPhones charge, using cleaner energy and thus reducing the devices’ carbon footprint.

Apple will start shipping repaired iPhone 12 units in environment-friendly packaging starting this week. Made from bleach-free paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, the new brown box will replace the white boxes used so far.

Apple promises to eliminate the use of plastic in its packaging by 2025.

For the first time, Apple is putting certified recycled gold in the iPhone. It’s part of the company’s increased use of recycled content across its products. Because of these efforts, nearly 20% of all material used in Apple products in 2021 was recycled, a new high point for the company.

“As people around the world join in celebrating Earth Day, we are making real progress in our work to address the climate crisis and to one day make our products without taking anything from the earth,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, in a press release Tuesday.

Apple also added a new shredderbot that rips apart audio modules to its robot recycling crew.

Apple’s suppliers have more than doubled their use of clean power over the last year. There’s over 10 gigawatts operational today.  In 2021, these projects avoided 13.9 million metric tons of carbon emissions.

And the iPhone-maker itself is investing in green energy projects.

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Apple on Thursday unveiled a $200 million fund to back responsible forestry efforts around the world. The Restore Fund, launched with Conservation International and Apple Card partner Goldman Sachs, aims to remove at least 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year.

That would be equivalent to removing more than 200,000 passenger vehicles from the road.

Apple made it clear to executives that it won’t be enough to simply talk about protecting the environment. Starting in 2021, the amount of cash bonuses will be impacted by how well each executive lives up Apple’s values.

Apple has scooped up a first-of-its-kind prize for its environmental work in China.

The company was awarded the Green Supply Chain CITI Outstanding Brand title for “environmental leadership” across its entire supply chain. It’s a recognition of all the work Apple has done in the country.

Apple’s efforts to be the greenest company in tech continue with a major expansion to its global recycling programs.

It will be easier than ever for customers to send old iPhone units off for recycling. Apple is also opening a new Material Recovery Lab in Austin, Texas. The lab will use robots and machine learning to improve the company’s recycling processes.

It’s an incredibly big deal that Wednesday’s Gather Round keynote featured Lisa Jackson, Apple’s head of environmental initiatives.

The annual iPhone unveiling is Apple’s biggest product event of the year. Every single word and image is carefully calibrated to do one thing, and one thing only: sell as many of the new products as possible.

So why did Tim Cook turn over several precious minutes to Jackson to talk about renewable energy and recycling?

Just a glance at an iPad or Apple Watch shows how much aluminum Apple uses. The traditional method for producing this material creates greenhouse gases. Apple brought together a pair of companies to develop a greener aluminium smelting process that releases oxygen instead.

The metal will someday go into iPhones, Macs, and other devices to make them easier on the environment.

Apple this week acknowledged it is still battling poor working conditions and environmental violations with some of its overseas supplier factories, but highlighted programs to solve ongoing issues, according to a company audit.

Apple’s annual Supplier Responsibility Report addressed conditions at 756 sites in 30 countries last year and scored facilities based on its Code of Conduct.

Earth Day 2017 has long since passed but Apple’s still not done busting out its quirky videos that celebrate the company’s green environmental protection initiatives.

In Apple’s latest hand-drawn ad published today, the company showcased its efforts to preserve forests so that the paper used in all of its packaging is done in a sustainable way. With a goal of preserving nearly 1 million acres of forest by 2020, Apple hopes 99% of the fibers and papers will come responsible sources and recycling.

Watch Lisa Jackson explain:

It feels like another lifetime when Apple was scoring dead last on Greenpeace’s report on environmentally friendly data centers and the greenest Apple got was putting out an iMac G3 in “lime” or “sage” colors.

Like a one-time rebel who now sits up front in class, today’s Apple is one of the most sustainable and eco-friendly tech companies around — and Greenpeace’s latest clean energy index has the stats to prove it!

As part of Apple’s continued focus on the environment, Apple Stores will soon ditch their instantly recognizable plastic bags for new paper ones made of 80 percent recycled materials.

The official changeover happens April 15, although stores will continue to use the old plastic bags until they run out of stock. The new bags come in both medium and large sizes.