Apple Issues $1 Billion Green Bond Sale to Fund Renewable Energy

[MacRumors]

Apple today issued a $1 billion green bond to fund renewable energy generation, according to Bloomberg.

Apple reportedly said it plans to use the proceeds to finance projects involving renewable energy resources and energy efficiency, including advancing its goal of achieving a closed-loop supply chain, through which products are made using only renewable resources and recycled material.

By turning to the debt market, Apple is able to fund its sustainability initiatives without tapping into its offshore cash reserves. Those dollars would be subjected to a 35 percent corporate tax rate if they were repatriated in the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly proposed offering a one-time tax holiday where companies like Apple can repatriate large amounts of foreign cash at a reduced tax rate of between 10 and 15 percent. But, as of this month, the relevant corporate tax laws have yet to be reformed in the country.

Apple's bond offering comes just two weeks after Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris climate accord, an agreement signed by over 140 countries that vow to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to mitigate climate change. Apple CEO Tim Cook said Trump's decision was "wrong for our planet."

An excerpt of Cook's internal memo to Apple employees:

Climate change is real and we all share a responsibility to fight it. I want to reassure you that today's developments will have no impact on Apple's efforts to protect the environment. We power nearly all of our operations with renewable energy, which we believe is an example of something that's good for our planet and makes good business sense as well.

Apple's preliminary prospectus supplement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission today confirms the bonds will mature in 2027. The sale was arranged by Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and J.P. Morgan.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple Issues $1 Billion Green Bond Sale to Fund Renewable Energy

 

[Orlandoech]

More watch bands... awesome.

 

[jkcerda]

glad PRIVATE CO's are stepping in, they are far more savvy with their money VS idiot politicians who just waste tax payers money and either don't care because it's not theirs or its going to some of their buddies in one fashion or another.

 

[Sunny1990]

Good step by Apple! Lots of maternal to recycle,due to Apple's Planned Obsolescence.

 

[dontworry]

Apple CEO Tim Cook said Trump's decision was "wrong for our planet."

By turning to the debt market, Apple is able to fund its sustainability initiatives without tapping into its offshore cash reserves. Those dollars would be subjected to a 35 percent corporate tax rate if they were repatriated in the United States.

I would say Apple's decision to keep money offshore is "wrong for our country"

 

[SoApple]

Times are tough when a post about green bonds has to be restricted lol

 

[meaning-matters]

Yes, the climate has always changed.
Why doesn't he say global warming?
Apple products cause massive pollution.

 

[DogHouseDub]

Corporations are people...except when it comes to taxes.

 

[litmag01]

Why doesn't he say global warming?

Probably because people misuse, misunderstand, and misinterpret that term. Climate Change is much safer in light of climate change denier arguments.

 

[DevNull0]

This is so sad, pathetic, and funny, coming from Apple.

Make your stuff just a little more upgradable to increase its life and you'll do a lot more for the environment than a $1 billion bond ever could.

Reduce is a lot better than recycle but goes against every fibre of Timmy's tiny little heart.

 

[meaning-matters]

Probably because people misuse, misunderstand, and misinterpret that term. Climate Change is much safer in light of climate change denier arguments.

What about global warming deniers?
Global warming was sold as the issue.
Climate has always changed.

 

[DrewDaHilp1]

Good job with following through with what you believe in Apple.

 

[Jsameds]

Good step by Apple! Lots of material to recycle, due to Apple's planned obsolescence .

Sigh.

Apple's products last the longest on the market compared to the rest of the industry, yet they're the only ones who get flack for 'planned obsolescence'.

 

[litmag01]

What about global warming deniers? Global warming was brought as the main issue. Climate has always changed.

I think that we're on the same page. Many climate change deniers use the excuse that their winter was colder to deny warming. Ideally everyone would call it the Holocene Extinction Event.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

More green washing...

 

[jhwalker]

Sigh.

Apple's products last the longest on the market compared to the rest of the industry, yet they're the only ones who get flack for 'planned obsolescence'.

Exactly. I have yet to retire a *single* Apple product - all are still going strong, including a 2007 MacBook Pro passed down to my dad - but I have a PC graveyard in a closet upstairs :/

 

[Tubamajuba]

Good step by Apple! Lots of material to recycle, due to Apple's planned obsolescence .

Yes, because a company that goes for "planned obsolescence" would totally support their smartphones and tablets with updates longer than any other company. Never mind how most Macs have a reputation for long lasting performance and durability. Just take a look at all the people on these forums that use six and seven year old Macs, sometimes even older.

Apple sucks at planned obsolescence.

 

[Jsameds]

This is so sad, pathetic, and funny, coming from Apple.

Make your stuff just a little more upgradable to increase its life and you'll do a lot more for the environment than a $1 billion bond ever could.

Reduce is a lot better than recycle but goes against every fibre of Timmy's tiny little heart.

I get it, you could extend the life of their product by a few years by upgrading it, but the truth is the vast majority of users wouldn't even consider opening the command prompt, let alone taking the side of their computer and upgrading it.

In the end the same amount of tech ends up on the scrap heap, regardless of how user accessible the internals are.

 

[AppleFan360]

No matter what side of the fence you are on, this is a good thing. I'm very pleased to see that Apple is taking responsibility for the crap they spill into the environment. This is a prime example of what conservatives have been screaming for years. Less government spawns individual responsibility and innovation. What Apple is doing here is what should be happening in the first place. No need for crazy agreements and accords that cost money to tax payers.

 

[Jsameds]

Exactly. I have yet to retire a *single* Apple product - all are still going strong, including a 2007 MacBook Pro passed down to my dad - but I have a PC graveyard in a closet upstairs :/

I bet all those PC's also had internal ports so you could upgrade them? What a massive difference they made to their operational lifespan..

EDIT For context see my other comment above.

 

[macduke]

Times are tough when a post about green bonds has to be restricted lol

Came here to say this. Maybe someday clean, infinite, renewable energy won't be considered a political issue. Until then, enjoy sucking smog you early 21st century idiots. I hope my grand kids laugh about how stupid everyone from this time was. Have some frickin foresight!

 

[Tubamajuba]

I get it, you could extend the life of their product by a few years by upgrading it, but the truth is the vast majority of users wouldn't even consider opening the command prompt, let alone taking the side of their computer and upgrading it.

In the end the same amount of tech ends up on the scrap heap, regardless of how user accessible the internals are.

Exactly. People on these forums vastly overestimate the number of people that ever upgrade their computers. They forget that we are a minority and that most people will never even think about upgrading their computer. It's way more effective to make improvements to the materials and manufacturing process than it is to appease a select few vocal users.

Not to mention, you could easily make an argument that upgradability is actually more taxing on the environment. As much as I enjoy the ability to upgrade RAM, soldering the RAM to the motherboard negates the use of one or two DIMM modules that have their own separate boards. Not to mention the fact that upgradability often means thicker devices which means more materials are used to make each device.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Corporations are people...except when it comes to taxes.

Nope. Corporate tax exists too. Congress has the Constitutional right to set tax rates pretty much any way it sees fit. Companies and individuals have different tax treatment for obvious (maybe not to some) reasons. Congress' Constitutional permitted ability to limit speech is much more restricted. So your comment is really like comparing USB ports to headphone jacks.

But ExPats are exempt from paying approx the first $100K in foreign sourced earned income. Then they get a housing exclusion of about another $100K (adjusted on cost of living in the particular city of residence). So they are not paying taxes on 100% of their income either. In fact, while ANY money corporations repatriate is taxed at 35%, that is not true of ExPats that return home. So your statement is incorrect.

 

[MrX8503]

Sigh.

Apple's products last the longest on the market compared to the rest of the industry, yet they're the only ones who get flack for 'planned obsolescence'.

Yep, it's quite ironic when people complain that their iPad 2 or Mini 2 is slow and that it's planned obsolescence.

 

[magicschoolbus]

So instead of the government paying for the climate agreement and more jobs headed to China, Trump got private industries to be more responsible as a result.

MAGA!