Apple has announced a target of becoming carbon neutral across its entire business and manufacturing supply chain by 2030.The company says the commitment means its devices will have had “zero climate impact” at point of sale.It told BBC News any company hoping to become a supplier would have to commit to “be 100% renewable for their Apple production” within 10 years.It follows climate-focused pledges by other technology giants.Microsoft arguably has gone further, by promising:
- to be carbon negative by 2030
- by 2050, to have removed the same amount of carbon as it has ever emitted from the environment
It has also just announced the creation of a consortium involving Nike, Starbucks and Mercedes-Benz among others to share information on carbon-reducing technologies.Amazon has set a 2040 target to go carbon neutral, reflecting the challenges it faces in converting its home-delivery vehicles to more eco-friendly energy sources.And Google has said it also intends to extend the carbon-neutral status it claims for its own operations to encompass its supply chain but has yet to set a deadline.The companies often note their goals are years ahead of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change’s 2050 target for net-zero carbon-dioxide emissions, which the IPCC says is necessary to limit global warming.
Other efforts announced by Apple include:
- increased use of recycled raw materials in its own products
- new solar-panel projects in Scandinavia, to power its own data centres
- the development of a carbon-free aluminium-smelting process as part of a collaboration with two suppliers
- investment in environmental projects, including work to restore mangrove trees and shrubs on Colombia’s coastline and woodland-grassland savannahs in Kenya
- work on eco-friendly energy projects to benefit local communities, including the installation of rooftop solar panels at a facility for disadvantaged children in the Philippines and the electrification of an off-grid fishing community in Thailand
