Apple pledges to become 100% carbon neutral by 2030

For long Apple has been a strong advocate of protecting the environment and also worked on initiatives to control the carbon footprint both in its own corporate offices and also supply chains.

In 2018, it achieved a milestone of increasing the tally to 23 affiliated factory plants, who committed to using 100-percent renewable energy.

Apple also announced that retail stores, offices, data centers, and co-located facilities in 43 countries including the US, UK, China, and India were fully powered by eco-friendly energy sources. This apparently helped the company avoid 1.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases from being emitted in 2017.

Now, Cupertino-based company has pledged to become 100-percent carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030. That's 20 years ahead targets set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

It should be noted that Apple already uses recycled materials in all iPhones, iPads Macs, Watches sold in the market since 2019, and the rare earth materials in them can be fully recycled again.

Now, the technology major wants to step up the efforts and claims that the production of new Apple products in 2030 will have zero impact on the planet's environment. Also, they can be recycled 100-percent and nothing will go to waste.

The Montague wind farm in Oregon is one of Apple’s largest projects at 200 megawatts and powers Apple’s Prineville data center. Credit: Apple

In its 2020 Environmental Progress Report, Apple says it plans to reduce emissions by 75 percent by 2030 while developing innovative carbon removal solutions for the remaining 25 percent of its comprehensive footprint.

Besides that Apple, going forward will use materials with low carbon in addition to recycled substance and also design products, which are power efficient.

Already, Apple has two innovative device disassembling robots-- Dave and Daisy-- which can recover rare earth magnets and tungsten from old iPhones.

"We’re proud of our environmental journey and the ambitious roadmap we have set for the future. Systemic racism and climate change are not separate issues, and they will not abide separate solutions. 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," said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives.

Thanks to innovation in recycling and product design, Apple was able to reduce its carbon footprint by 4.3 million metric tons in 2019. In the past 11 years, Apple has decreased the average energy needed for product development by 73 percent.

Also, the company has abled to get commitments from more than 70 suppliers to use 100-percent renewable energy for Apple devices' production.

In a bid to reduce the impact of the climate change, Apple announced a first-of-its-kind carbon solutions fund to invest in the restoration and protection of forests and natural ecosystems globally.

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