During the pandemic, we forgot that a bigger global emergency is waiting to happen — the climate crisis. A recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of experts convened by the United Nations, offered an understanding of how the planet is changing. It says that global average temperatures are estimated to rise 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels sometime around “the first half of the 2030s” as we continue to burn coal, oil and natural gas. It said that industrialised nations need to come together to reduce greenhouse gases roughly in half by 2030 and also stop adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere altogether by the early 2050s.
Tech companies are aware of what’s coming our way but, at the same time, the growth of technology sector continues at a rapid pace, exposing its massive footprint. What can be done? All eyes are on Apple, the world’s most valuable company that produces future-forward technology. It’s a company that has long committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and has said that every product will be made with clean energy and even more recycled and renewable materials. How much has been achieved of ‘Apple 2030’?
Apple’s iPhone disassembly robot, Daisy (below left). By 2025, all Apple-designed batteries (below right) will be made with 100 percent recycled cobalt, and magnets in Apple devices will use 100 percent recycled rare earth elements Pictures: Apple
Recycle and reuse
Apple has been carbon neutral for its global corporate operations since 2020 and that includes emissions from offices, data centres, retail stores, as well as employee commute, and corporate travel. All eyes are now on its ambitious goal to become carbon neutral across its entire global supply chain and the life cycle of every product.
The plan is to reduce emissions by 75 per cent by 2030. The strategy revolves around the use of renewable energy and recycled content, and on avoiding activities that generate carbon in the first place.
The focus is on ways to minimise emissions from the company’s total footprint, which includes emissions from manufacturing, product use, transport, and end-of-life product processing.
Apple has over 250 suppliers in 28 countries committed to 100 per cent renewable energy for the company’s production. And that accounts for over 85 per cent of Apple’s direct manufacturing spend. The figure includes 12 suppliers operating in India.
That’s not enough. It’s important to come up with products that can last longer and are made with recycled and renewable materials. Take a look at any Apple device: It’s expected to last many generations of software upgrades and it can be passed down among family members. Durability is a critical factor because products need to withstand the rigours of everyday use. The company’s reparability programme too is improving by the year.
Apple is using recycled and renewable materials. There is a list of priority materials that account for more than 87 per cent of the total product mass that Apple has shipped to customers last year. The list includes steel, tungsten, lithium, plastics, paper, zinc, copper, cobalt, rare earth elements, tantalum, aluminum, tin, gold and glass. Apple is transitioning to 100 per cent recycled cobalt in all the batteries they design, as well as fully recycled tin, rare earth elements and more in key components by 2025.
Just to give you an example of what has been achieved and what other companies should look at doing: Last year, Apple products included 67 per cent recycled aluminum, many products featured 100 per cent recycled aluminum in their enclosures, more than 95 per cent certified recycled tungsten in its products last year in the Taptic Engine, 73 per cent recycled rare earth elements, which is a big increase since Apple introduced recycled rare earth elements in its devices. There has been 38 per cent recycled tin with all of the new iPhone, iPad, AirPods and Mac devices, featuring 100 per cent recycled tin in the solder on the main logic boards and 25 per cent recycled cobalt that’s used in device batteries. In total last year, 20 per cent of the material in all Apple products came from recycled sources. Take a look at the new MacBook Air with the M2 chip. It’s made of 40 per cent recycled materials.
Daisy, Dave and Taz do their jobs
At some point or the other, everyone upgrades to new devices. The products are designed in a way that they can be used by more than one owner. Plus, it always helps to opt for the trade-in programme, which is also available in India. It’s a programme that helps you get a good value in exchange for your current device and apply it towards whatever device you are buying. In case your device isn’t eligible for credit, Apple will help you recycle it for free, which obviously helps the planet.
In fiscal 2022, Apple sent 12.1 million devices and accessories to new owners for reuse. In that same time period, the company was able to direct more than 40,000 metric tons of e-waste to its recyclers globally.
Helping with recycling are robots Daisy, Dave and Taz. They disassemble and recover valuable key materials from Apple products. Dave, for example, takes apart the Taptic Engine which has rare earth elements. Taz helps recover rare earth magnets once they’re isolated; these could be lost in conventional electronics recycling.
One of the biggest achievements so far has been the extent to which plastic has been eliminated from packaging. In 2022, only 4 per cent of the packaging contained plastic, that’s down from 21 per cent from 2015.
In the entire chain, suppliers are equally important. Apple has a zero waste programme for its supply chain. Since 2015 it has been expanded to include more than 300 supplier facilities in 14 countries. The company is working with suppliers, helping them figure out how to recycle, how to reuse materials, and how to go about sustainable waste management.
In 2022, the company’s suppliers redirected 523,000 metric tons of waste from landfill, bringing the total, since the programme was started, to over 2.5 million metric tons. Through 2022, 100 per cent of the company’s established final assembly sites, including every site in India, maintained their zero waste to landfill verification standards.
Here’s the challenge: As Apple continues its journey towards reducing emissions by 75 per cent by 2030, it is looking at nature-based solutions for the 25 per cent of remaining emissions that are unavoidable with existing technologies. The company also prioritises partnerships to support community-based approaches to climate change. This is another area where India plays an important role. “Apple is committed to helping ensure everyone can share in the benefits of a greener economy,” said Sarah Chandler, Apple’s vice-president of environment and supply chain innovation.
Focus on India
Apple, for example, has a partnership with the Applied Environmental Research Foundation to promote the protection and conservation of mangroves in Maharashtra. In March, Apple partnered with an environmental NGO, Frank Water, to come up with data and analytics-driven solutions to improve water management and conservation in India. A pilot programme has started in Anekal taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru, where Frank Water is surveying households to map how water is used in the area.
Last week, Apple announced a programme with Acumen. Through the Energy for Livelihoods Accelerator, Acumen experts will lead a 12-week programme designed to help social entrepreneurs scale and refine their businesses to transform the lives of people living in poverty, while also protecting the environment. Applications are open (till July 24) for the programme beginning in September. Leaders of social enterprises, businesses with clear social or environmental emissions, working to advance sustainable energy solutions for small businesses and farmers in India are invited to apply. “We’re demonstrating the transformative potential of clean energy in everything we do, and excited to support social innovators who share that goal,” said Chandler.
A mention should also be made of Apple BKC (Mumbai), which is the company’s first retail location India. It is designed to be one of the most energy-efficient Apple Store locations in the world, with a dedicated solar array and zero reliance on fossil fuels for store operations. The store is operationally carbon neutral, running on 100 per cent renewable energy.
Apple’s plan to become carbon-neutral across its entire business by 2030 is a big task because of the number of products it produces each year. The company’s relationship with and influence over its many suppliers is proving to be a game changer. Climate-related goals are not a new project for Apple. Under the leadership of the late Steve Jobs, the idea of putting out cleaner products started and now we have to see whether the company can live up to a statement CEO Tim Cook made in 2020: “Climate action can be the foundation for a new era of innovative potential, job creation, and durable economic growth.”