September 12, 2023
PRESS RELEASE
Apple unveils its first carbon impartial merchandise
The brand new Apple Watch lineup marks main progress towards bold Apple 2030 local weather aim
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple immediately introduced its first-ever carbon impartial merchandise within the all-new Apple Watch lineup. Improvements in design and clear vitality have pushed dramatic reductions in product emissions of over 75 % for every carbon impartial Apple Watch.1 This milestone marks a significant step within the firm’s journey towards its bold Apple 2030 aim to make each product carbon impartial by the tip of the last decade, together with the complete international provide chain and the lifetime use of each system Apple makes.
As a part of Apple 2030 and the corporate’s broader environmental efforts, Apple has additionally ended using leather-based throughout all of its product traces, introduced its first solely fiber-based packaging for the brand new Apple Watch lineup,2 and continued to develop using recycled supplies in iPhone. The corporate additionally launched a brand new software within the Residence app referred to as Grid Forecast,3 which helps inform customers when their energy grid has cleaner vitality obtainable, to allow them to determine when to make use of electrical energy.
“At Apple, we’ve a longstanding and confirmed dedication to main the struggle in opposition to local weather change. Our concentrate on renewable vitality and low-carbon design has already pushed industry-leading emissions reductions, and we’re not slowing down,” stated Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vp of Setting, Coverage, and Social Initiatives. “We’ve achieved an essential milestone in making the world’s hottest watch carbon impartial — and we’ll preserve innovating to satisfy the urgency of the second.”
Each Product Carbon Impartial by 2030
Apple has adopted a transparent and rigorous method to product decarbonization that prioritizes lowering greenhouse gasoline emissions from the three greatest sources throughout the product life cycle: electrical energy, supplies, and transportation. Solely after Apple steeply cuts product emissions, will the corporate apply high-quality carbon credit from nature-based initiatives for emissions that can’t but be prevented or decreased with current options.
Every carbon impartial Apple Watch mannequin meets the next strict standards: 100% clear electrical energy for manufacturing and product use, 30 % recycled or renewable materials by weight, and 50 % of transport with out using air transportation.4 These mixed efforts end in not less than a 75 % discount in product emissions for every mannequin. The corporate will use high-quality carbon credit to deal with the small quantity of remaining emissions, leading to a carbon impartial product footprint. Each carbon impartial Apple Watch — which incorporates any aluminum Collection 9 and SE fashions when paired with a brand new Sport Loop, and Apple Watch Extremely 2 when paired with a brand new Path Loop or Alpine Loop — is licensed by SCS World Companies, a frontrunner in environmental requirements and certification.
The Path to 2030
Apple’s first carbon impartial merchandise are the results of years of great work and innovation throughout the corporate and its international provide chain. Additionally they symbolize the newest step on a journey that started over a decade in the past.
In 2020, Apple achieved carbon neutrality for its international company operations and introduced Apple 2030: a daring technique to be carbon impartial throughout its whole worth chain by 2030. Apple’s plan facilities on an aggressive 75 % discount in total carbon emissions from 2015 ranges. By avoiding actions that generate carbon, considerably increasing renewable vitality throughout the corporate’s company operations and provide chain, and designing with recycled and renewable supplies, Apple has to date decreased complete emissions by over 45 % since 2015, whereas nonetheless rising income by over 65 % in the identical interval.
As Apple accelerates efforts to decarbonize its worth chain, each product represents a possibility to scale back emissions — from the electrical energy used for manufacturing and charging gadgets, to supplies and transport.
Spurring Progress in Clear Electrical energy
All manufacturing for the carbon impartial Apple Watch fashions is powered by 100% clear electrical energy by way of investments and sourcing by Apple and its suppliers. Moreover, each provider that manufactures components and elements for these fashions has dedicated to 100% renewable electrical energy for all of their Apple manufacturing by the tip of the last decade. Apple additionally works with manufacturing companions around the globe to advocate for insurance policies that assist wider deployment of unpolluted vitality options.
Apple started constructing and investing in large-scale photo voltaic and wind farms to energy its knowledge facilities and places of work over a decade in the past. In 2015, the corporate began working with its manufacturing companions to assist them create and spend money on their very own photo voltaic and wind initiatives, and supply renewable vitality for all Apple manufacturing. Since 2018, all of Apple’s company places of work, knowledge facilities, and retail shops worldwide have been powered by renewable electrical energy.
Thanks to those mixed efforts, Apple and its international suppliers assist greater than 15 gigawatts of unpolluted vitality around the globe immediately — sufficient to energy over 5 million American properties. Throughout all product traces, greater than 300 international suppliers — representing over 90 % of Apple’s direct manufacturing spend — have now joined Apple’s Provider Clear Vitality Program, committing to 100% renewable electrical energy for all Apple manufacturing by the tip of this decade.
Electrical energy for manufacturing and charging gadgets represents the most important supply of Apple’s emissions throughout all product traces. To handle the latter, Apple has dedicated to spend money on large-scale photo voltaic and wind initiatives around the globe. For the carbon impartial Apple Watch fashions, the corporate will match 100% of consumers’ anticipated electrical energy use for charging.
Innovating in Low-Carbon Design
Apple has pioneered using many key recycled supplies in its merchandise by way of world-class product engineering, in depth design qualification, and provide chain experience. The brand new merchandise introduced immediately construct on these achievements.
To additional cut back influence on the planet, Apple is ending using leather-based throughout all of its product traces, together with iPhone equipment and Apple Watch bands. The corporate will change leather-based with a brand new textile referred to as FineWoven, a sublime and sturdy twill produced from 68 % post-consumer recycled content material. FineWoven provides a delicate luster and a delicate, suedelike really feel, and is out there on iPhone MagSafe instances and wallets in addition to the Magnetic Hyperlink and Fashionable Buckle Apple Watch bands.
As recycled and renewable supplies typically have a decrease carbon footprint than major supplies, Apple’s industry-leading progress in using recycled content material additionally advances the corporate’s Apple 2030 aim. The brand new FineWoven materials has considerably decrease emissions in comparison with the extra carbon-intensive leather-based, and each the brand new iPhone 15 and the Apple Watch lineups advance progress towards the corporate’s 2025 targets for using 100% recycled metals in key elements. This contains 100% recycled uncommon earth magnets and the corporate’s first use of 100% recycled cobalt within the battery of iPhone 15, Apple Watch Collection 9, and Apple Watch Extremely 2.5 Moreover, the favored Sport Loop has been redesigned with 82 % recycled yarn, which incorporates materials from discarded fishing nets. Prospects seeking to improve to the brand new carbon impartial Apple Watch fashions can make the most of Apple Commerce In, and Apple will refurbish the system for a brand new proprietor, or recycle it at no cost.
Apple can be accelerating progress towards plastic-free packaging by 2025. Along with reaching the primary 100% fiber-based packaging for the brand new Apple Watch and band lineup, the packaging for each iPhone 15 mannequin is over 99 % fiber-based.
Decreasing Transportation Emissions
Transporting merchandise around the globe makes up about 9 % of Apple’s complete carbon footprint. The corporate is shifting extra product quantity to transport modes which are much less carbon-intensive than air transport, akin to ocean or rail. Apple’s carbon footprint methodology reveals that transport the identical product by ocean emits 95 % fewer emissions than by air.
For the carbon impartial Apple Watch fashions, together with watches and bands, the corporate will ship not less than 50 % of the mixed weight utilizing non-air modes, reducing complete transportation emissions almost in half. Moreover, the packaging of all Apple Watch Collection 9 and SE fashions has been redesigned for compactness, with a brand new, smaller form that permits for 25 % extra gadgets per cargo.
On the identical time, Apple is dedicated to supporting broader efforts to decarbonize transport industries, akin to by being a member of the First Movers Coalition, and by supporting evaluation to determine pathways for creating sustainable aviation fuels. The corporate additionally seeks out technical improvements — together with using different fuels and electrical automobiles — and selects distributors that supply low-carbon choices to assist additional drive decarbonization within the {industry}.
Investing in Excessive-High quality Carbon Removing
After reaching steep reductions in product emissions, Apple plans to cowl residual emissions with high-quality carbon credit primarily from nature-based initiatives that take away carbon from the environment, like restoring grasslands, wetlands, and forests. Carbon removing is vital to addressing local weather change and reaching international local weather objectives, as main scientific our bodies just like the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Local weather Change have emphasised.
Apple defines high-quality credit as these from initiatives which are actual, extra, measurable, and quantified, with methods in place to keep away from double-counting, and that guarantee permanence. Apple has helped advance pure carbon-removal options that meet this definition by creating the modern Restore Fund, which at present helps initiatives in Latin America. The corporate makes use of credit from initiatives which are licensed to worldwide requirements akin to Verra; the Local weather, Group & Biodiversity Requirements; and the Forest Stewardship Council.
For the carbon impartial Apple Watch fashions, the high-quality carbon credit used to compensate for the remaining emissions will come from initiatives just like the Restore Fund’s investments with Arbaro Advisors and BTG Pactual Timberland Funding Group, that are serving to to revive and shield high-quality working forests and native ecosystems in Paraguay and Brazil.
Introducing Grid Forecast
As Apple decarbonizes its worth chain, the corporate can be dedicated to partaking with clients and creating expertise that helps them perceive and deal with their environmental influence.
Grid Forecast is a brand new software within the Residence app on Apple gadgets that reveals when a consumer’s electrical grid has comparatively cleaner or much less clear vitality sources obtainable. For instance, there are occasions when wind and photo voltaic initiatives produce extra vitality than the grid can use, resulting in a few of it being wasted. There are additionally instances when electrical energy is being generated with decrease emissions. Through the use of electrical energy throughout these cleaner instances, clients could decrease the local weather influence of the electrical energy they use at house.
Apple makes use of knowledge that mixes grid, emissions, and climate data into one, easy-to-follow sign. This may also help folks make choices about the very best time to run giant home equipment and cost electrical automobiles or gadgets all through the day. Within the contiguous United States, Grid Forecast is out there within the Residence app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, and might be added as an iOS widget or a watch face complication. As extra knowledge turns into obtainable by way of ongoing {industry} collaboration, Apple will proceed refining Grid Forecast to maximise influence.
Past its 2030 aim, Apple can be working towards a 90 % discount in emissions by 2050 — which requires advocating for collective motion from governments, companies, and people to speed up international progress within the struggle in opposition to local weather change.
For extra data on Apple’s 2030 local weather aim and the environmental influence of Apple merchandise, go to apple.com/2030.
About Apple
Apple revolutionized private expertise with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Right this moment, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apple’s 5 software program platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS — present seamless experiences throughout all Apple gadgets and empower folks with breakthrough providers together with the App Retailer, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apple’s greater than 100,000 workers are devoted to creating the very best merchandise on earth, and to leaving the world higher than we discovered it.
- Carbon reductions are calculated in opposition to a baseline state of affairs: No use of unpolluted electrical energy for manufacturing or product use, past what’s already obtainable on the grid; Apple’s carbon depth of key supplies as of 2015; and Apple’s common mixture of transportation modes by product line throughout three years.
- The breakdown of U.S. retail packaging is by weight. Adhesives, inks, and coatings are excluded from calculations of plastic content material and packaging weight.
- Grid Forecast shall be obtainable within the contiguous United States.
- 50 % or extra of all carbon impartial merchandise by complete weight are deliberate, as of product launch, to be shipped utilizing non-air modes of transportation — like ocean freight — from the manufacturing unit to their subsequent vacation spot over the lifetime of the merchandise.
- All cobalt content material claims are based mostly on a mass steadiness allocation.
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Apple
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