Environmental Responsibility

Apple is intensifying its global investment in clean energy and water sustainability, advancing towards its "Apple 2030" goal of achieving carbon neutrality across its entire value chain by the decade's end, the company has announced. "Clean energy and water are foundational to healthy communities and essential building blocks for a responsible business," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice...

Apple CEO Tim Cook has explained why the company releases a new iPhone every year, what the device will be like in the future, what he is personally doing to reduce his carbon footprint, and more in a new interview with Brut. The brief interview, shot at an Apple data center and solar power facility in Denmark, delves mainly into Cook's opinion on various environmental issues such as...

Apple's strict environmental goals are putting pressure on the company's global supply chains, DigiTimes reports. In a paywalled report, ‌DigiTimes‌ claims that Apple's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 is putting pressure on its supply chain, with major suppliers such as TSMC scrambling to meet the company's demands. Sources speaking to ‌DigiTimes‌ said that TSMC was making slow...

After failing to appear before British lawmakers, Apple has been accused of not taking its environmental obligations seriously enough, particularly on e-waste, reports Bloomberg. Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked to appear before the Environmental Audit Select Committee of the House of Commons, but failed to respond before a September 4 deadline. Apple was previously asked to put forward a...

Apple has today announced that it will construct two of the world's largest onshore wind turbines near Esbjerg in Denmark, in an expansion of its investment in renewable energy. Via a press release, Apple explained that the new 200-meter-tall turbines will produce 62 gigawatt hours of energy every year, enough to power almost 20,000 homes. The area will also function as a test site for...

Apple today announced a target of becoming carbon neutral across its entire business and manufacturing supply chain by 2030. Apple is already carbon neutral across its global corporate operations, and this new commitment means that by 2030, every Apple device sold will have net zero climate impact. "Businesses have a profound opportunity to help build a more sustainable future, one born of...

In May 2018, Apple announced that it had helped facilitate a collaboration between two of the world's largest aluminum producers, Alcoa and Rio Tinto, on a new carbon-free aluminum smelting process. Together, the companies formed a joint venture called Elysis, working to develop the patented technology further. Today, Apple said it has now bought the first-ever commercial batch of...

Tim Cook gave the keynote speech at the Ceres 30th Anniversary Gala in New York City on Monday night. Ceres is a sustainability nonprofit organization, and Cook was invited to share Apple's outlook on the future of sustainable energy. ‌Tim Cook‌ at Ceres (Photo credit: @JamesGould21) To that end, the Apple CEO used his time at the podium to engage issues of sustainability and renewable...

Apple today shared environmental reports for the new MacBook Air and Mac mini, the first two Macs with 100 percent recycled aluminum enclosures. The eco-friendly designs of the new MacBook Air and Mac mini extends beyond aluminum. The bottom cover and connector wall in the new Mac mini, for example, are made from 60 percent recycled plastic, while its fan contains 27 percent bio-based...

Apple has announced it will invest in a mangrove tree restoration project for a 27,000-acre forest in Colombia, as part of a broader effort by the company to achieve carbon neutrality (via Fast Company). Apple VP of environment, policy, and social initiatives Lisa Jackson gave details of the investment at the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, but stopped short of disclosing how...

Apple today announced the launch of a $300 million investment fund in China which is designed to connect Apple's suppliers with renewable energy sources. Apple, along with 10 initial suppliers, is investing $300 million into the China Clean Energy Fund over the course of the next four years. Apple says the fund will invest in and develop clean energy projects totaling more than 1 gigawatt of...

The aluminum used in Apple products ranging from iPhones to MacBooks could be more sustainably manufactured in as early as six years. The first aluminum manufactured with the new process Apple today announced it has helped facilitate a collaboration between two of the world's largest aluminum producers, Alcoa and Rio Tinto, on a new carbon-free aluminum smelting process. Together, the...

Apple today shared its 2018 environmental report [PDF], outlining all of the improvements and changes that were implemented throughout 2017 and early 2018 to lessen the company's overall environmental impact. As was announced earlier this month, Apple recently hit a major milestone and longtime environmental goal, with 100 percent of its operations around the world powered by renewable energy. ...

Apple has outlined the HomePod's power consumption in an environmental report [PDF] about the speaker published today. Apple says the HomePod consumes less power than an average ENERGY STAR certified LED household light bulb during music playback. The comparison is true, as a classic-shaped A-series LED bulb typically draws around 9-10 watts, while the HomePod draws around 8.74 watts with...

Apple today shared an iPhone X environmental report, detailing the smartphone's environmental performance as it relates to climate change, energy efficiency, material efficiency, and restricted substances. The report reveals that the base model iPhone X generates an equivalent of 79 kilograms of carbon dioxide over its life cycle, which is the highest estimated greenhouse gas emissions of...

Apple today shared a new Earth Day 2017 video on its YouTube channel, which comes more than a month after Earth Day took place. The video, which follows the theme of the previous Earth Day spots Apple released, focuses on Liam, Apple's recycling robot that strips iPhones down to their component parts. The ad was created by Apple environment lead Lisa Jackson and her team to mark Apple's...

Just ahead of Earth Day, Apple has released its 2017 Environmental Responsibility Report [PDF] with a lofty new goal: ending mining. Apple says the company is working on a "closed-loop supply chain" that would allow it to stop mining the earth for rare minerals and metals. "One day, we'd like to be able to build new products with just recycled materials, including your old products," Apple...

Apple's partnership with The Conservation Fund to protect working forests has begun to show returns for both Apple and the state of North Carolina, according to information the organization shared with the Triangle Business Journal. Apple vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives Lisa Jackson shared the article covering Apple's conservation efforts on Twitter this afternoon. ...

Greenpeace has declared Apple to be the most environmentally friendly technology company in the world for the third year in a row. The conclusion was reached in the environmental organization's latest report, entitled Clicking Clean: Who is Winning the Race to Build a Green Internet, which awarded Apple a final 'A' grade and a clean energy index score of 83 percent. Facebook and Google also...

Apple released its latest annual environmental report yesterday, and some of the numbers included reveal just how much the company is able to recover from old devices. Business Insider notes that Apple was able to recover over 61 million pounds of steel, aluminum, glass, and other materials from its computers and iPhones. Included in that total is 2,204 pounds of gold, which is well over a...