“We hope to be a ripple in the pond that creates a much larger change.”
Apple announced an ambitious pledge Tuesday — unveiling a plan to make all the company’s supply chains and products entirely carbon neutral by 2030.
“Businesses have a profound opportunity to help build a more sustainable future, one born of our common concern for the planet we share,” Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said in a statement announcing the goal.
“The innovations powering our environmental journey are not only good for the planet — they’ve helped us make our products more energy efficient and bring new sources of clean energy online around the world,” Cook added.
Cook argued that climate action “can be the foundation for a new era of innovative potential, job creation, and durable economic growth.”
“With our commitment to carbon neutrality, we hope to be a ripple in the pond that creates a much larger change,” Cook said.
The commitment means that every Apple device sold by 2030 will have a net zero climate impact, according to Apple.
“In 10 years, by the year 2030, every single product we make will be carbon neutral, meaning it will have absolutely no impact on our climate. That’s every product, how we manufacture it, even the energy that it takes to charge it,” Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives told ABC News’ Amy Robach on “GMA3.”
Jackson, an Obama-era administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said that Apple “already runs on 100% renewable energy worldwide” at every store and every office, adding, “we wanted our suppliers to do the exact same thing.”
She noted that over 70 suppliers have committed to clean energy, “And we’re not going to stop until every single one of our suppliers is on the journey with us.”
As part of the plan, the company unveiled a 10-year roadmap that aims to lower emissions every step of the way, from product design to recycling.
The company noted that all iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch devices released in the past year are made with recycled content, and that its latest recycling innovation (a robot called “Dave”) can better recover key materials such as rare earth magnets from old iPhones.
The company said, as Jackson noted, it has commitments from over 70 suppliers to use 100% renewable energy for Apple production. Moreover, Apple said that through a partnership with the U.S.-China Green Fund it will invest $100 million in accelerated energy-efficiency projects for Apple’s suppliers.
In addition, Apple said it is supporting the development of the first-ever direct carbon-free aluminum smelting process through a project and investments with two of its aluminum suppliers. The company said Tuesday that the first batch of this low-carbon aluminum is being used in production of the 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Finally, the company said consumers can follow the plan and progress on its website, under a special landing page here.
“I think businesses have an enormous responsibility to our customers. Our customers are demanding that we step up and show responsibility to them and to the planet and to their future,” Jackson said.