Environmental
Progress
Report
Covering fiscal year 2023
Contents Introduction Environmental Initiatives Engagement and Advocacy Data Appendix | 2024 Environmental Progress Report 2 | |
Contents
Introduction | Environmental | ||
3 Reflections from Lisa Jackson | Initiatives | ||
4 | Report highlights | Apple 2030 | |
Goals and progress | |||
5 | 11 | Journey to Apple 2030 | |
12 | Approach | ||
15 | Design and materials | ||
24 | Electricity | ||
32 | Direct emissions | ||
35 | Carbon removal | ||
Resources | |||
39 | Approach | ||
40 | Product longevity | ||
45 | Material recovery | ||
48 | Water | ||
52 | Zero waste | ||
Smarter Chemistry | |||
58 | Approach | ||
59 | Mapping | ||
61 | Assessment | ||
63 | Innovation |
Engagement and | Appendix | ||
Advocacy | 85 | A: Corporate facilities energy supplement | |
67 | Approach | 94 | B: Apple's life cycle assessment methodology |
C: Assurance and review statements | |||
68 | Listening to a range of voices | 96 | |
D: Environment, Health and Safety Policy | |||
69 | Achieving change together | 107 | |
E: ISO 14001 certification | |||
73 | Supporting communities | 109 | |
Report notes | |||
worldwide | 111 | ||
End notes | |||
112 |
Data
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- High quality carbon certificates
- Carbon footprint by product
- Energy
- Resources
- Normalizing factors
Contents Introduction Environmental Initiatives Engagement and Advocacy Data Appendix
2024 Environmental Progress Report 3
Reflections
Apple's commitment to climate action has never been more clear.
Thanks to the hard work of teams across our company, we've reduced our emissions by over 55 percent since 2015. We've crossed key milestones on our environmental journey. And we're rising to the generational challenge of climate change by working with companies and communities that span the globe.
Apple 2030 is our commitment to be carbon neutral for our entire footprint by the end of the decade. We'll get there by innovating at every stage of the product lifecycle - from how they're made, to what they're made from.
That starts with bringing new clean energy online across our supply chain. Today, more than 320 suppliers have committed to using renewable electricity for Apple production. With over 16 gigawatts already online, they're avoiding more than 18 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Our teams and suppliers are a part of so many communities, so Apple's work to protect the planet takes us around the world.
That's why we're partnering directly with communities and local organizations to support environmental solutions where they're needed most. In 2023, that meant expanding our Power for Impact program to bring clean energy to underserved communities in Nepal and Colombia, and supporting programs that increase access to safe water and sanitation in India.
We're also building our products with more recycled and renewable material than ever - work that helps to drive down our carbon footprint. Our customers play an important role in this effort.
When you participate in the Apple Trade-In program, you're helping to bring us closer to the day our products will be made without taking anything from the Earth.
The proof is in our products. Last year, more than 20 percent of the materials we shipped in Apple products came from recycled sources. MacBook Air is our first product made with more than
50 percent recycled material, and we're making important strides across all of our products. The iPhone 15 lineup, Apple Watch Series 9, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 use 100 recycled cobalt in their batteries. More than 99 percent of the tungsten in our products comes from recycled sources. And we're driving innovation around the world to improve the way our industry recycles
and recovers materials.
We're also finding new and better ways to get Apple products into people's hands. It's not just trains, planes, and automobiles - increasingly, we're shipping Apple products on the open seas, because ocean freight can reduce emissions by as much as
95 percent compared to air transport. And we continue to restore our planet's ecosystems - like the Atlantic Forest, which stretches from Brazil to Paraguay - that play a key role in removing carbon from the atmosphere.
What does all this work add up to? Progress. And that progress is sorely needed, because the impacts of climate change are all around us. Its frontlines are not in boardrooms or government buildings - they're in communities. And we owe it to our global community
to rise to the challenge of climate change with all the innovation, empathy, and commitment we can muster.
Lisa Jackson
VP, Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives
Contents Introduction Environmental Initiatives Engagement and Advocacy Data Appendix
Report highlights
2024 Environmental Progress Report 4
Reduced our overall emissions by more than 55 percent
We reduced our overall greenhouse gas emissions across scopes 1, 2, and 3 by more than 55 percent compared with our 2015 baseline year - not including offsets.1 In that same time period, revenue grew
by 64 percent. We estimate that we've avoided 31 million metric tons of emissions through reduction efforts like transitioning our supply chain to renewable electricity
and sourcing recycled content.
Read more on page 14.
Introduced our most significant product emissions reductions to-date
Innovations in design and clean energy drove dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for the fall Apple Watch lineup - the most significant from our business-as-usual scenario.2 This included 100 percent clean energy for manufacturing and product use, 30 percent recycled and renewable material by weight, and 50 percent shipping without the use of air transportation.3
Read more on page 9.
Advocated for reporting transparency
As part of our commitment to greenhouse gas emissions disclosures, we endorsed the landmark California Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (CA SB 253) to improve transparency and drive progress in the fight against climate change.
Read more on page 71.
Increased our use of recycled materials
We're making steady progress on our journey toward using only recycled and renewable materials in our products. In 2023, 22 percent of the materials we shipped in Apple products came from recycled sources.4 This includes, 99 percent of tungsten, 71 percent of aluminum, 52 percent of cobalt, 25 percent of gold, and 24 percent of lithium
in our products.5
Read more on page 17.
MacBook Air is the first Apple product made with 50 percent recycled content
This includes 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure, 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets and, in another first for Apple, 100 percent recycled copper in the main logic board.
Read more on page 16.
More than 320 suppliers committed to renewable electricity
As of March 2024, more than 320 suppliers have committed to sourcing renewable electricity for Apple production, representing 95 percent of our direct supplier spend. We've accelerated progress with a mandate in our Supplier Code of Conduct for all direct suppliers to transition to renewable energy in the manufacturing of Apple products.
Read more on page 27.
Launched Grid Forecast
In the contiguous United States, we introduced Grid Forecast, a new tool in the Home app on Apple devices.
This tool shows customers when cleaner electricity is available from the grid, empowering them with information
to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Read more on page 30.
Contents Introduction Environmental Initiatives Engagement and Advocacy Data Appendix | 2024 Environmental Progress Report 5 | ||
Goals and progress
Emissions
Goals | Progress | Highlights |
Become carbon neutral for | Achieved | We achieved carbon neutrality |
our corporate operations. | in 2020 by expanding energy | |
efficiency initiatives, sourcing | ||
100 percent renewable | ||
electricity for Apple facilities, | ||
and investing in high-quality | ||
carbon credits to offset the | ||
remaining hard-to-decarbonize | ||
corporate emissions. | ||
Achieve carbon neutrality for | Ongoing | Since 2015, we've reduced |
our entire carbon footprint | emissions by over 55 percent | |
by 2030 - reducing related | across our value chain. | |
emissions by 75 percent | ||
compared with 2015.6 | ||
Transition our entire | Ongoing | As of March 2024, more than |
value chain, including | 320 suppliers have committed | |
manufacturing and product | to use 100 renewable energy | |
use, to 100 percent clean | for their Apple production. | |
electricity by 2030.7 | These suppliers account | |
for 95 percent of Apple's | ||
direct spend for materials, | ||
manufacturing, and assembly | ||
of our products worldwide.8 |
Materials
Goals | Progress | Highlight |
Use only recycled and | Ongoing | In 2023, 22 percent of the |
renewable materials in our | material we shipped in our | |
products and packaging, and | products came from recycled | |
enhance material recovery. | or renewable sources, and | |
we also added titanium to our | ||
priority materials list in 2023.9 | ||
Transition to 100 percent | Ongoing | In 2023, 56 percent of the |
recycled cobalt, tin, gold, | cobalt shipped in Apple- | |
and rare earth elements | designed batteries came | |
in select components and | from recycled sources.11 | |
applications by 2025.10 | ||
Remove plastics from our | Ongoing | Our product packaging |
packaging by 2025.12 | shipped in 2023 contains only | |
3 percent plastic - down from | ||
21 percent in 2015.13 |
Resources
Goals | Progress | Highlight |
Replenish all our corporate | Ongoing | We've partnered on freshwater |
freshwater withdrawals | replenishment projects resulting | |
in high-stress locations | in 31.2 million gallons of | |
by 2030.14 | volumetric water benefits. | |
Certify all Apple-owned data | Ongoing | We've certified five data |
centers to the Alliance for | centers since 2021, and 20 | |
Water Stewardship (AWS) | suppliers since 2017 to the | |
Standard by 2025.15 | AWS Standard. | |
Expand and grow supplier | New | Through our program, |
we've supported an average | ||
participation in the Supplier | ||
42 percent reuse rate | ||
Clean Water Program, | ||
across our 242 participating | ||
prioritizing high water | ||
supplier facilities. | ||
stress locations and driving | ||
participants to an average | ||
50 percent water reuse rate | ||
by 2030.16 | ||
Eliminate waste sent to | Ongoing | Our corporate facilities waste |
diversion rate increased to | ||
landfill from our corporate | ||
74 percent, driven by progress | ||
facilities and our suppliers. | ||
at our data centers. | ||
Throughout 2023, 100 percent | ||
of established final | ||
assembly sites maintained | ||
zero-waste-to-landfill operations. |
Contents Introduction Environmental Initiatives Engagement and Advocacy Data Appendix
Overview
Apple 2030
Journey to Apple 2030
Approach
Design and materials
Electricity
Direct emissions
Carbon removal
Resources
Approach
Product longevity
Material recovery
Water
Zero waste
Smarter Chemistry
Approach
Mapping
Assessment
Innovation
Environmental Initiatives
2024 Environmental Progress Report 6
Focus on the future More than 38 percent
of manufacturing electricity for iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max is sourced from our supplier clean energy projects.
Contents Introduction Environmental Initiatives Engagement and Advocacy Data Appendix | 2024 Environmental Progress Report 7 | ||
Apple 2030 | |||
Resources | |||
Smarter Chemistry |
Environmental Initiatives
Apple 2030
Apple 2030 is our commitment to be carbon neutral for our entire carbon footprint. Our journey to 2030 is focused on first reducing our scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent compared with 2015, and investing in high-quality carbon removal solutions for the remaining emissions.
Design and materials
Electricity17
Direct emissions
Carbon removal
Resources
We aim to make durable, long-lasting products and enhance material recovery. And we're committed to stewarding water resources and eliminating waste sent to landfills.
Product longevity
Material recovery
Water
Zero waste
Smarter Chemistry
Through chemistry innovation and material selection, we design our products to be safer for anyone who assembles, uses, or recycles them - and to be better for the environment.
Mapping
Assessment
Innovation
Contents Introduction Environmental Initiatives Engagement and Advocacy Data Appendix
Apple 2030
Journey to Apple 2030
Approach
Design and materials
Electricity
Direct emissions
Carbon removal
Resources
Smarter Chemistry
2024 Environmental Progress Report 8
The time for change
The significant emissions reductions associated with the Apple Watch lineup mark a milestone toward our 2030 goal.
Apple 2030
Contents Introduction Environmental Initiatives Engagement and Advocacy Data Appendix
Apple 2030
Resources
Smarter Chemistry
An ambitious goal for 2030: We committed to be carbon
2024 Environmental Progress Report 9
Our journey to 2030 centers on reducing our scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions first - upstream and downstream - by 75 percent before balancing remaining emissions with high-quality carbon removals.
neutral for our entire carbon footprint by the end of the decade.
We've already reduced emissions by more than 55 percent since 2015, even as revenue grew by 64 percent during that same eight-year period.
We're focused on decarbonizing the three largest sources of emissions - materials, electricity, and transportation - across our value chain. We're prioritizing efforts to drastically reduce these emissions with initiatives focused on achieving the broadest impact before applying offsets. For
emissions that can't be further reduced, we primarily look for high-quality,nature-based credits. We invest in carbon sequestration and removal projects to help us achieve carbon neutrality.
Decarbonizing our supply chain is essential to achieving Apple 2030. We've focused on innovative approaches to significantly expand renewable energy across our supply chain and manufacture our products with recycled and renewable materials.
Contents Introduction Environmental Initiatives Engagement and Advocacy Data Appendix | 2024 Environmental Progress Report 10 | ||
Apple 2030 | |||
Resources | |||
Smarter Chemistry |
Decarbonizing our value chain
Electricity
Electricity for manufacturing and charging devices represents the largest source of Apple's emissions across all product lines. Achieving carbon neutrality for our entire carbon footprint requires a transition to 100 percent clean energy and significant energy reductions throughout our supplier facilities.
We launched the Supplier Clean Energy Program in 2015 to advance renewable energy throughout our manufacturing supply chain. As of March 2024, more than 320 global suppliers - representing 95 percent of Apple's direct manufacturing spend - have joined the program. These suppliers have committed to using 100 percent renewable electricity for all their Apple production by the end of this decade. The success of this initiative has led to the next phase of our efforts toward achieving a carbon neutral supply chain by 2030.
To rapidly scale and accelerate the progress of the Supplier Clean Energy Program, Apple updated the Supplier Code of Conduct to require all direct suppliers to transition to renewable energy in the manufacturing of Apple products. The codification of this requirement is the next step in our decarbonization journey and a sign of our commitment to integrate supply chain decarbonization into our core business decision- making. We hope that our approach can serve as a model that other companies can follow.
We're also working to address emissions from product use through investments in renewable energy so that every watt of electricity associated with our customers' product use is matched by clean electricity. We're prioritizing product efficiency to reduce the electricity use of our products.
We've also introduced Grid Forecast, a tool in the Home app that informs U.S.-based users when their power grid has cleaner energy available for use. And with iOS 16, we launched the Clean Energy Charging feature in the United States, which looks at the sources of the electricity during expected charge times and optimizes for when the grid is using cleaner energy sources like solar or wind.
Materials
We've advanced toward our 2030 goal by using recycled and renewable materials, which often have a lower carbon footprint than primary materials. And we announced that, by 2025, we plan to use 100 percent recycled cobalt in all Apple-designed batteries, 100 percent recycled tin soldering,
100 percent recycled gold plating in all Apple- designed rigid and flexible printed circuit boards, and 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets across new products.18
We've pioneered the use of many recycled materials in our products through world-class product engineering, extensive design qualifications, and supply chain engagement. Our focus is on materials that will yield significant environmental and social
impacts, even when those materials come with notable challenges to building circular supply chains. To read more about our efforts to create circular supply chains, see the Prioritizing our efforts section. We intentionally design products to minimize the use of primary (non-recycled) materials and maximize recycled content as feasible. And year over year, we innovate and improve manufacturing processes to use materials more efficiently and decrease manufacturing scrap.
In 2023, manufacturing our products accounted for 59 percent of our gross carbon footprint. This includes emissions from fuel combustion; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); refrigeration; use of fluorinated gases; and other physical or chemical processes (excluding transportation). These emissions sources vary widely and require use of diverse technologies and solutions to abate.
Our approach is to identify process emissions across our supply chain, like the use of fluorinated gases in display and semiconductor manufacturing, and launch targeted programs to address these emissions in partnership with our suppliers, governments, and industry stakeholders. We continue to launch supplier programs targeting emissions from manufacturing operations and facilities used to produce Apple products, like the Supplier Energy Efficiency Program launched in 2015 to help our suppliers optimize their energy use.
Transportation
In 2023, transporting our products to customers accounted for 9 percent of our gross carbon footprint. To address the emissions from transportation, we're shifting more product volume to shipping modes that are less carbon intensive than air transport, such as ocean or rail. Shipping the same Apple product by ocean generates 95 percent fewer emissions than shipping it by air, based on our carbon footprint methodology. We're investigating a transition to low-carbon sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) to reduce the carbon footprint of air shipment. We're also addressing transportation-related emissions through product and packaging design that drives reduced packaging mass and volume, creating boxes that use space more efficiently.
Carbon removals
Prioritizing emissions reductions across our entire value chain is critical to limiting climate change to 1.5°C. Still, not all emissions can be avoided or reduced with existing solutions. And some existing solutions will require greater industry and government efforts to scale before broader commercial adoption becomes feasible. As we focus on eliminating the majority of emissions across the value chain, we're also addressing emissions we can't reduce by looking for high-quality carbon credits from nature-based projects. The nature-based projects we select focus
on carbon sequestration, like planting forests and restoring mangroves, and have additional benefits that improve climate adaptation and resilience.
Transparency and integrity are critical to the carbon projects that we fund. The credits from these investments must be additional, permanent, measurable, and quantified - with systems in place to avoid double-counting - and must avoid leakage. To read more about our work in carbon removals, see Carbon removal and read our white paper, Apple's Carbon Removal Strategy.
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Apple Inc. published this content on 17 April 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 18 April 2024 12:15:06 UTC.