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.
