Apple Shares 2021 Environmental Progress Report

Apple has today published its 2021 Environmental Progress Report, setting out the company's ongoing efforts to reduce its impact on the environment and combat climate change.

environmental progress report 2021
Apple's goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 is central to the report. For example, Apple highlights its increasing use of recycled materials in its products and packaging, emphasis on environmentally-conscious design, and use of renewable energy, to reduce carbon emissions.

Apple explained that increasing a device's power efficiency can significantly reduce the carbon emissions a device instigates over the course of its use. For example, it mentioned that the low power-per-watt requirements of the M1 chip have reduced the overall carbon footprint of the Mac mini by as much as 34 percent.

The company addressed some of the more controversial environmental decisions that it has taken over the past year, such as removing the power adapter and EarPods from the iPhone. Apple says that this will save 861,000 tons of copper, tin, and zinc ore from being unnecessarily mined from the earth. The move allowed for thinner ‌iPhone‌ boxes, which meant that 70 percent more iPhones can now fit in every shipping pallet, reducing overall the carbon footprint of device transportation.

The report also drew attention to Apple's recent announcement of its $200 million contribution to the "Restore Fund," which will make investments in forestry projects to remove carbon from the atmosphere.

See the full PDF version of Apple's 2021 Environmental Progress Report for more information.

Popular Stories

Apple iPhone 16e Feature

Apple Announces iPhone 16e With A18 Chip and Apple Intelligence, Pricing Starts at $599

Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued. The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
iphone 17 pro asherdipps

iPhone 17 Pro Models Rumored to Feature Aluminum Frame Instead of Titanium Frame

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models. In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

Here Are the New Apple Products We're Still Expecting This Spring

Thursday February 20, 2025 5:06 am PST by
Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, our thoughts turn to what else we are expecting from the company this spring. There are three product categories that we are definitely expecting to get upgraded before spring has ended. Keep reading to learn what they are. If we're lucky, Apple might make a surprise announcement about a completely new product category. M4...
iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Generic iOS 18

Here's When Apple Will Release iOS 18.4

Wednesday February 19, 2025 11:38 am PST by
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple updated its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia pages to give a narrower timeline on when the next updates are set to launch. All three pages now state that new Apple Intelligence features and languages will launch in early April, an update from the more broader April timeframe that Apple provided before. The next major point updates will be iOS ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

Two of Apple's Oldest Products Are Finally Getting Updated This Year

Friday February 14, 2025 6:03 am PST by
Apple released the HomePod mini in November 2020, followed by the AirTag in May 2021, and both still remain first-generation products. Fortunately, rumors suggest that both the HomePod mini and the AirTag will finally be updated at some point this year. Below, we recap rumors about the HomePod mini 2 and AirTag 2. HomePod mini 2 In January 2025, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple is ...

Top Rated Comments

cmaier Avatar
50 months ago

My trouble with this is Apple is just moving the the issue to another vendors. Especially when it comes to power adapters. It seems like they want to make themselves look great caring less about other vendors. What they should do is produce power adapters that are better, and more environmentally conscious than everyone else. Apparently they just want to check the box saying they met the carbon emissions goal.
How are they moving the issue to other vendors on power adapters? Apple still sells power adapters. It’s just now you only buy one when you need it, and don’t incur the environmental costs of manufacture and shipping when you don’t.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
50 months ago

iCloud, by default, backs-up everything to iCloud. Photos and videos backed-up to iCloud.

I don't backup photos to iCloud because every time a picture is edited it goes through the upload process again and if I delete a picture after I use it the whole iCloud backup process was for nothing.

This goes-on for millions of Apple users every day. How much unnecessary iCloud traffic goes-on every day for Apple users? This is a stain on Apple's "Environmental Progress Report".
Most people never delete photos. Most people WANT their edited photos to be mirrored on their other devices or on iCloud. Most people would have no idea how to turn this feature on. This is a silly thing to complain about.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
50 months ago

Your reply is silly. I guess you are ignorant about the concept of server farms using a lot of energy and unnecessary Internet traffic goes against "environmentalism".
No, my reply isn’t silly. First, apple’s server farms are carbon neutral. Second, it’s only a waste of resources when the work isn’t necessary. Here, the work is necessary. It’s what people want and are paying for.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yellow8 Avatar
50 months ago
Let's go world! Let's move to something awesome: not ruining the planet!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
50 months ago

Apple server farms may be "carbon neutral" because they get power from renewable suppliers but all the stuff between your device and their servers farms is likely not carbon neutral.

I noticed unneccessary Internet traffic with my devices. Every time I edited a picture it went through the iCloud backup process. I need the iCloud backup only at the end when I am finished with the picture. Simple things like this happen millions of times every day.
It was unnecessary to YOU. Now how much carbon will be emitted dealing with support phone calls, YouTube searches, and trips to the apple store to teach people how to enable iCloud syncing if Apple gives in to your idea and doesn’t turn it on by default?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ELman Avatar
50 months ago
My trouble with this is Apple is just moving the the issue to another vendors. Especially when it comes to power adapters. It seems like they want to make themselves look great caring less about other vendors. What they should do is produce power adapters that are better, and more environmentally conscious than everyone else. Apparently they just want to check the box saying they met the carbon emissions goal.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)