Apple Shares 2024 Environmental Progress Report Ahead of Earth Day

[MacRumors]

Apple today announced that it has cut its greenhouse gas emissions by more than half since 2015, advancing towards its 2030 carbon neutrality goal.

Apple's latest Environmental Progress Report details the company's efforts and innovations in clean energy, efficient recycling practices, and sustainable material usage that have contributed to this substantial decrease in emissions. According to the report, the major reduction has been driven by extensive use of clean energy, including the integration of recycled materials across Apple's product lines and improvements in energy efficiency throughout its global supply chain.

Apple has fostered significant advances in recycling and material recovery as part of its broader environmental strategy for several years. The company has increased the use of recycled cobalt and lithium in its batteries, with last year's statistics showing that 56% of the cobalt and 24% of the lithium used were sourced from recycled materials. These efforts are part of a larger initiative to transition to 100% recycled and renewable materials across all products.

The report also highlights achievements in energy efficiency and renewable energy sourcing. Over 16.5 gigawatts of clean energy are now being produced as a result of Apple's Supplier Clean Energy Program, which supports projects around the world. The program has been essential in reducing the carbon footprint Apple and its suppliers, who collectively saved more than two billion kilowatt-hours of electricity last year. The company is also actively removing plastics from its packaging, shifting towards fiber-based alternatives.

Apple also provides financial support to various organizations and programs aimed at improving environmental conditions and promoting sustainability education. In the U.S., for example, Apple supports Justice Outside's Network for Network Leaders program, which focuses on outdoor and environmental education.

See Apple's full 2024 Environmental Progress Report for more information.

Article Link: Apple Shares 2024 Environmental Progress Report Ahead of Earth Day

 

[lyngo]

Well done on helping the environment and the world. It’s good companies and people overall are taking the initiative to do this. Maybe we will see more movement and reports from others along the way.

 

[DMG35]

Please no more cringe worthy skits like the "Mother Nature" bit we had to suffer through last year.

 

[iPay]

Earth Day is all fine, but next quaterly results is going to be Dearth Day in view of China iPhone sales.
Quoting from Investopedia:

Sales in China, Apple's largest overseas market, dropped 24% in the first six weeks of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, according to market research firm Counterpoint. The iPhone maker's market share in China slipped to 16% in 2024, falling to fourth place from second place in 2023, when it had a 19% share.5 mars 2024

 

[coffeemilktea]

The company has increased the use of recycled cobalt and lithium in its batteries, with last year's statistics showing that 56% of the cobalt and 24% of the lithium used were sourced from recycled materials.

who collectively saved more than two billion kilowatt-hours of electricity last year

The company is also actively removing plastics from its packaging

All this recycling and saved electricity and lessened plastic use are going to lead to lower costs for the consumer too, right?

....right?

🥺

 

[vicviper789]

You know what's actually good for the environment? Letting people work remote.

 

[Muhammad_arif]

Apple today announced that it has cut its greenhouse gas emissions by more than half since 2015, advancing towards its 2030 carbon neutrality goal.

Apple's latest Environmental Progress Report details the company's efforts and innovations in clean energy, efficient recycling practices, and sustainable material usage that have contributed to this substantial decrease in emissions. According to the report, the major reduction has been driven by extensive use of clean energy, including the integration of recycled materials across Apple's product lines and improvements in energy efficiency throughout its global supply chain.

Apple has fostered significant advances in recycling and material recovery as part of its broader environmental strategy for several years. The company has increased the use of recycled cobalt and lithium in its batteries, with last year's statistics showing that 56% of the cobalt and 24% of the lithium used were sourced from recycled materials. These efforts are part of a larger initiative to transition to 100% recycled and renewable materials across all products.

The report also highlights achievements in energy efficiency and renewable energy sourcing. Over 16.5 gigawatts of clean energy are now being produced as a result of Apple's Supplier Clean Energy Program, which supports projects around the world. The program has been essential in reducing the carbon footprint Apple and its suppliers, who collectively saved more than two billion kilowatt-hours of electricity last year. The company is also actively removing plastics from its packaging, shifting towards fiber-based alternatives.

Apple also provides financial support to various organizations and programs aimed at improving environmental conditions and promoting sustainability education. In the U.S., for example, Apple supports Justice Outside's Network for Network Leaders program, which focuses on outdoor and environmental education.

See Apple's full 2024 Environmental Progress Report for more information.

Article Link: Apple Shares 2024 Environmental Progress Report Ahead of Earth Day

Does anyone know why Apple does not mention Airpods in their Environmental reports?

 

[bigjnyc]

They've WOVEN themselves in to a FINE mess trying to appear environmentally friendly. Waiting to see how they spin the return of leather or if they just go silicone cases in September.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Nobody cares. Tell us about products you sell.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Earth Day is all fine, but next quaterly results is going to be Dearth Day in view of China iPhone sales.
Quoting from Investopedia:

An knowledgable investor would understand that saving the planet is more important than sales, and the stock will rise accordingly.

 

[StuBeck]

Personally, I believe the increased repairability of items is a bigger deal than using recycled materials in new materials. If their goal is to truly reduce total usage (and not sell more products) then being able to repair an item easier will help with reducing the total waste we have rather than just replacing with a new product.

 

[citysnaps]

All this recycling and saved electricity and lessened plastic use are going to lead to lower costs for the consumer too, right?

....right?

🥺

For sure it will stem cost increases due to inflation-driven COGS/overhead/benefits/etc increases.

Sadly, many here who don't understand the big picture with respect to product production and environmental consequences will see the above as some kind of perpetrated woke con by Apple.

 

[imtoretto]

All this Movement of Green, Environment, planet, Save, Energy, renewable..... is a complete B-S.
They took out the earpods, then the charger block, then the plastic wrap, they even took out the plastic that covers the screen when you first take the phone out the box for crying out loud.....
Apple's Excuse is to "Protect the environment" which in reality is to cut more expenses on their end and Apple Still Charging the loyal consumer even more.....Guess whats the problem, or who is the problem adding to this???
The loyal consumer. The consumer that justifies this "reasons" are big part of the problem, that's why Apple do whatever they want.

 

[LoggerMN]

Nobody cares. Tell us about products you sell.

Too many people with this attitude, is why we’ll fail to stop global warming, and our children are going to suffer the consequences.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Too many people with this attitude, is why we’ll fail to stop global warming, and our children are going to suffer the consequences.

I have no kids, so whatever. lol.

 

[BarrettF77]

Apple thinks we care, but we really don’t. And like it was said earlier, that awful skit with Tim and team, gag.

Go innovate and make better products for once. They seemingly have gotten very lazy

 

[Fuzzball84]

It is great to see recycling… but they need to show us that the recycled materials are safe. Recycled material such as plastic is notorious for accumulating toxins and other chemicals from prior use, storage and the recycling process itself.

What they need to do is work with the manufacturers who they outsource to and tell the consumer the whole story.

Where did those recycled materials come from, what do they contain, are they safe? What is the pollution from both recycling and manufacturing?

I find it extremely hard to believe that the standards apple has for its own business activities are carried over right back through the outsourced supply chain. Remember, Apple is notorious for driving hard deals with suppliers.. that pressure is antithesis to what sustainable is about.

 

[Fuzzball84]

Personally, I believe the increased repairability of items is a bigger deal than using recycled materials in new materials. If their goal is to truly reduce total usage (and not sell more products) then being able to repair an item easier will help with reducing the total waste we have rather than just replacing with a new product.

Exactly… reduced consumption is key… better repairability, modularity and longevity is the future of sustainability.

 

[Fuzzball84]

Too many people with this attitude, is why we’ll fail to stop global warming, and our children are going to suffer the consequences.

I think things will just get worse and worse… civilisations in the past have been wiped put due to environmental changes. Only this time it willbe on a whole new level. Crap in the ground, in the sea, in the air.. in space. Our junk is everywhere and its composition and structure is such that the trash and our materials of past few hundred years will leave an effectively permanent scar on the planet.

 

[LoggerMN]

Exactly… reduced consumption is key… better repairability, modularity and longevity is the future of sustainability.

Repairability does not automatically equal less waste. We have data-free arguments on this topic, which means the arguments are completely based on in unverified assumptions.

User level repair or manufacturer level repair. It doesn’t matter from the environment’s perspective. If I trade in an old phone to buy a new phone and my old phone gets refurbished and used again, from an environmental perspective it is the same as me fixing it. If non-repairability allows the phone to be built more robustly so it lasts longer. That offsets some of the benefit that user level repair provides. Then, if I do user level repair and simply trash, the old component that’s being replaced, that’s actually worse than turning in a phone to be fully recycled.

This is not to be misconstrued as an argument against user level repair. Only that we don’t have enough data to argue one way or the other. We need to know the useful lifespan in both use models and the recycle rates in both use models. We do not have this data.

I don’t even know if it’s possible to get this data since they’re so a few user repairable phones. Maybe they could instead do a comparison using computers where we have a lot of data in both use models.

 

[Fuzzball84]

Repairability does not automatically equal less waste. We have data-free arguments on this topic, which means the arguments are completely based on in unverified assumptions.

User level repair or manufacturer level repair. It doesn’t matter from the environment’s perspective. If I trade in an old phone to buy a new phone and my old phone gets refurbished and used again, from an environmental perspective it is the same as me fixing it. If non-repairability allows the phone to be built more robustly so it lasts longer. That offsets some of the benefit that user level repair provides. Then, if I do user level repair and simply trash, the old component that’s being replaced, that’s actually worse than turning in a phone to be fully recycled.

This is not to be misconstrued as an argument against user level repair. Only that we don’t have enough data to argue one way or the other. We need to know the useful lifespan in both use models and the recycle rates in both use models. We do not have this data.

I don’t even know if it’s possible to get this data since they’re so a few user repairable phones. Maybe they could instead do a comparison using computers where we have a lot of data in both use models.

Getting reliable and trustworthy data is extremely difficult.

But in my experience, user enabled repair at home can be extremely effective if the device is designed with that in mind. Thats the key... repairability and longevity have to be designed in. At the moment that is just not the case with most household goods, including computers and phones. It is far more environmentally friendly to ship a small part to a user, and ship the defective part back...

If you send in a device for repair and get a new one... you are relying on someone else buying that repaired device instead of getting a new one. And if you have it recycled... well then there is the environmental cost of your new phone.. and the environmental cost of the recycling (yes, recycling causes waste too). Thats why it's best to reduce consumption in the first instance... this is the best way forward until our devices can be recycled sustainably.

 

[sunapple]

Personally, I believe the increased repairability of items is a bigger deal than using recycled materials in new materials. If their goal is to truly reduce total usage (and not sell more products) then being able to repair an item easier will help with reducing the total waste we have rather than just replacing with a new product.

There is a section about this in the report.

This graphic is pretty hilarious, "IPHONE LONGEVITY JOURNEY"
(Black items are "Repairable at retail stores, Apple Authorized Service Providers, and central repair locations")

iPhone 1st generation:

• SIM-tray

 

[I7guy]

Apple thinks we care, but we really don’t. And like it was said earlier, that awful skit with Tim and team, gag.

Go innovate and make better products for once. They seemingly have gotten very lazy

It’s irrelevant if we “care”. Apple is marching toward their states progress. Consumers will buy products or not, but apple is still headed toward carbon neutrality.

 

[CosmoCopus]

Sick of their high up grade pricing and constant virtue signaling.

 

[t0rqx]

In the meanwhile the milions FineWoven bands ending in the bin.

Nobody talkin about that shizzle.