Apple is in the fast lane on its way to becoming carbon neutral by 2030. It just released a 10-year roadmap – a detailed plan to ensures every device it produces will have a net-zero climate impact by the end of the decade. The commitment includes achieving a net-zero carbon footprint across its manufacturing supply chains and product life cycles.
The goal is outlined in Apple’s 2020 Environmental Progress Report. It states that to create a net zero-sum, the company will reduce its emissions by 75% and develop carbon removal solutions for 25%. It shouldn’t be too difficult, seeing as it has already reached carbon neutrality for corporate emissions worldwide. Now, it just has to bring the rest of its carbon footprint to that.
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said:
Businesses have a profound opportunity to help build a more sustainable future, one born of our common concern for the planet we share. The innovations powering our environmental journey are not only good for the planet — they’ve helped us make our products more energy-efficient and bring new sources of clean energy online around the world. Climate action can be the foundation for a new era of innovative potential, job creation, and durable economic growth. With our commitment to carbon neutrality, we hope to be a ripple in the pond that creates a much larger change.
Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, added:
We’re proud of our environmental journey and the ambitious roadmap we have set for the future. We have a generational opportunity to help build a greener and more just economy, one where we develop whole new industries in the pursuit of giving the next generation a planet worth calling home.
Apple’s 10-year Climate Roadmap
The plan consists of a series of innovative actions that will lower emissions. They can be grouped into the following categories:
- Low carbon product design
- Expanding energy efficiency
- Renewable energy
- Process and material innovations
- Carbon removal
Low carbon product design examples include continually increasing their use of recycled and low carbon materials in their products, improving designs to be as energy-efficient as possible, and investing in innovative product recycling technologies. In 2019, the company decreased its carbon footprint by 4.3 million metric tons, all thanks to recycled content innovations and recycled materials in its products. It has also reduced the average energy required for product use by 73% over the past 11 years.
To expand energy efficiency, Apple will lower electricity use at its corporate facilities while simultaneously helping its supply chain do the same. To identify new ways for this to happen, the company is collaborating with US-China Green Fund. Together they are investing $100 million in accelerated energy efficiency projects for Apple’s suppliers. They’ve already proven it’s possible by investing in energy efficiency upgrades to over 6.4 million square feet of buildings last year – a move that lowered electricity needs by almost one-fifth and saved $27 million in energy expenditures.
Apple is already using 100% renewable energy for its operations, so from here on out, it is focused on creating new projects and transitioning its entire supply chain to clean power. It has commitments from more than 70 suppliers to use 100 percent renewable energy for Apple production. Over 14.3 million metric tons of CO2 emissions will be avoided, which is the equivalent of removing over three million cars off the road annually.
Process and material innovations include the development of the first-ever direct carbon-free aluminum smelting process, among other technological improvements.
To remove CO2 from the atmosphere, Apple is investing in nature-based solutions, such as projects that focus on the restoration and protection of forests and natural ecosystems. One such initiative is restoring vital mangrove ecosystems in Colombia because they can store as much as ten times more carbon than forests on land. The company has already protected over one million acres of forests around the world, collaborating with the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, and The Conservation Fund.
Apple is not only dedicated to making the best products on earth, but also to leaving the world better than we found it.
