Apple Announces 10 New 'Power for Impact' Projects to Tackle Climate Change

[MacRumors]

Ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, Apple today announced that it is adding 10 new projects for its "Power for Impact" initiative, which looks to bring clean energy solutions to communities around the world, and has more than doubled the number of its suppliers committed to using 100 percent clean energy over the past year.

Apple announced its Power for Impact initiative in 2019, designed to provide communities with renewable energy while promoting economic and social growth. One of the 10 new Power for Impact projects involves working with the Oceti Sakowin Power Authority in the United States to collaboratively develop renewable energy resources for the wholesale market, with the objective of creating a large-scale wind power development in the Midwest. Apple CEO Tim Cook said:

Every company should be a part of the fight against climate change, and together with our suppliers and local communities, we're demonstrating all of the opportunity and equity green innovation can bring. We're acting with urgency, and we're acting together. But time is not a renewable resource, and we must act quickly to invest in a greener and more equitable future.

Other projects in South Africa, Nigeria, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Colombia, and Israel seek to provide renewable energy to healthcare and educational institutions, as well as surrounding households, using rooftop solar installations. Apple believes that this will create a source of local revenue and lower energy costs, freeing up funds for educational scholarships, equipment, and medication.

Apple added that 175 of its suppliers have now committed to using renewable energy. This includes 19 suppliers in the United States, 19 in Europe, 50 in China, and 31 in India, Japan, and South Korea. The company said that the suppliers are also scaling up their use of renewable energy across their operations, beyond their business with Apple alone. Apple and its suppliers will bring more than nine gigawatts on-grid around the world, avoiding over 18 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, the equivalent of taking over four million cars off of the road each year.

Apple has also expanded the amount of recycled material that it uses in its products, working with suppliers to move toward a "circular system" that attempts to reduce the need for carbon-intensive mining. This includes recycled sources of gold, cobalt, aluminum, rare earth elements, and more.

Related to its recycling efforts, Apple highlighted that the iPhone 13 Pro has an 11 percent smaller carbon footprint compared to the iPhone 12 Pro, while the new 16.2-inch MacBook Pro has an eight percent smaller carbon footprint compared to the previous model.

The efforts are part of Apple's goal to reach carbon neutrality across its business by 2030, meaning that every Apple device sold will have a net-zero climate impact. Apple has already reduced its carbon emissions by 40 percent over the past five years.

Article Link: Apple Announces 10 New 'Power for Impact' Projects to Tackle Climate Change

 

[Justin Cymbal]

I’m glad that Apple continues to make progress on our goal to combat climate change

The more everyone can do to reduce carbon emissions the better and no other company has the resources to create these projects than Apple

 

[Hammerd]

Sadly it’s all bluff to make us forget how their products are disposable

 

[interessiert]

Apple should better take all these plastic parts away from boxes – we've got e.g. with AirPods 3rd gen - an if you reflect the origin of these plastics and how they are produced in China with hight energy consumption and environmental pollution, then you see how careless these big companies are acting...

THANKS!

 

[EvilEvil]

Does this mean Apple will get rid of dongles?

 

[yellow8]

Let's make A LOT more Apple. That kind of action should have been 10 years ago minimum.
Money makers/owners are the one that should do the most.

 

[Sasparilla]

Nice to see.

 

[14UG]

I totally understand the cynicism towards a company like Apple's efforts towards sustainability. But the fact is, it doesn't matter if this is sincere and freely offered or green-washing only when the company's hand is forced (in truth it's probably both in different parts). What matters is that Apple's efforts are multi-faceted and exceed, in large part, what other tech companies are doing.

Apple are still not doing enough but they are doing better than many. Leading the way with a dim light.

 

[TroyBoy30]

you cant stop climate change. you are not god

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Smh! I’m proud and glad Apple is doing that. But please don’t just focus on packaging and that’s it? There are other ways around it.

 

[BlakeSchneider]

Great. Solar panels actually cause more toxic pollution at the end of their lifecycle.

 

[Shirasaki]

Let's make A LOT more Apple. That kind of action should have been 10 years ago minimum.
Money makers/owners are the one that should do the most.

And yet they are the one that is more than happy to see the world burn cause they don’t need to care.

 

[Salty Pirate]

Maybe Apple should start making solar roofs and powerwalls. Everything managed by the home app.

 

[ANDJOE]

And yet they are the one that is more than happy to see the world burn cause they don’t need to care.

“More than happy to see the world burn”
Yikes!

 

[burgman]

Sadly it’s all bluff to make us forget how their products are disposable

I think you’re a victim of spellcheck? the correct word is recyclable. Adults learn from past mistakes and change. Companies make money by giving consumers what they want. Which until fairly recently was use and throw away. Though many still live like that.

 

[Freeangel1]

I use a solar panel roof at my house in Joshua Tree CA.
16 solar panels. almost free electric every month.
Cost 40k back in 2014 when installed.
But now a similar system is down to 25k.
Panasonic solar panels.
Don't have A Tesla battery storage unit yet.
The electric company pays me for electric I generate and share back to the solar farm down my block in the mountains.

JOSHUA TREE CA! the BEST! The DESERT.

 

[toobravetosave]

*yawn* apple could do so much more with the cash and resources they have

 

[TallManNY]

Great. Solar panels actually cause more toxic pollution at the end of their lifecycle.

Really? Did you get that information from Tic Tok or was it Instagram? Or was it a definitive source of a think tank funded by the fossil fuel industry? I'm curious when you think the end of a solar panels lifecycle is. Or what you think is going to be so toxic about them at that point.

 

[chublet]

here is a thing - the 15 biggest container ships produce as much pollution as ALL (approx 750million!) cars in the world. As long as people buy stuff that is produced thousands of miles away then anything we do to reduce pollution will be literally a drop in the ocean. The same with plastics etc - look at where all the plastics in the ocean come from and you will see it is sourced though basically 10 big rivers in places - Africa and the Far East - where no-one cares about the damage they are doing.
The West is going to put in restrictions which affect peoples lives in all sorts of ways but until we stop buying goods manufactured abroad and start producing them at home, in whatever country you live in of course, local means local worldwide, and stop sending our trash to be 'recycled' in places like Africa (where recycling seems to mean dump it somewhere once you have taken the precious metals back out to sell to Apple etc) then nothing will change.

 

[vir]

The end is near.

 

[twolf2919]

Sadly it’s all bluff to make us forget how their products are disposable

Apple is a company that sells stuff for profit. All companies sell 'disposable' products. A more mature attitude would be to look at a company and compare it to how it acts relative to its peers - i.e. companies that sell the same stuff. Yeah, Apple sells phones that people upgrade on a regular basis - but Apple's phones stay in circulation a lot longer than any other company's phones. Apple recycles more of its phones than any other company. And Apple's packaging contains less plastic than any other mobile company's. Those aren't "bluffs" - they're facts.

If you object to companies selling 'disposable' products, stop buying disposable products - instead of hypocritically and pointlessly pontificating on a forum.

 

[twolf2919]

Apple should better take all these plastic parts away from boxes – we've got e.g. with AirPods 3rd gen - an if you reflect the origin of these plastics and how they are produced in China with hight energy consumption and environmental pollution, then you see how careless these big companies are acting...

THANKS!

Why can't they do both? And - lo and behold - they are! My iPhone 13 Pro Max arrived in a completely cardboard container - no plastic whatsoever! Not even a plastic shrink wrap. Even the postage container was cardboard. But change is a continual process, not something that happens overnight. If your AirPod 3s came in plastic, Apple just hasn't gotten to repacking them yet. They probably will soon.

 

[twolf2919]

Great. Solar panels actually cause more toxic pollution at the end of their lifecycle.

They do not.

 

[Supermacguy]

All good news, glad to hear that Apple is pushing to accelerate renewables. Corporations need to push change as gov't is too gridlocked to make enough progress (although I wish they could).

 

[twolf2919]

I use a solar panel roof at my house in Joshua Tree CA.
16 solar panels. almost free electric every month.
Cost 40k back in 2014 when installed.
But now a similar system is down to 25k.
Panasonic solar panels.
Don't have A Tesla battery storage unit yet.
The electric company pays me for electric I generate and share back to the solar farm down my block in the mountains.

JOSHUA TREE CA! the BEST! The DESERT.

What's a "solar panel roof"? Solar panels on the roof or solar tiles? Anyway, prices have come down more than that - at least here in NC: I had a 26 panel system installed last year and that was $23k. And that's not even counting the federal tax rebate.