Apple is on right track to meet ambitious 'carbon neutral' target

Latest iPhone 15 series and the Apple Watch lineups come with 100 percent recycled rare earth magnets and 100 per cent repurposed cobalt in battery.

Apple on Tuesday (September 12) unveiled the new line of iPhone 15 series along with the new Watches and AirPods Pro series. But, the star of the show, at least for me, were the Watches.

Besides the new generation S9 System-on-Chip (SoC) and double tap feature, the new Watch Series 9, Watch Ultra 2, and even the Watch SE (2nd Gen) are now available in carbon neutral options for customers. 

This is a really big milestone not just for Apple, but also for consumer electronics industry. It has a bad reputation of over-exploitation of forests for mining rare earth minerals and other elements to build components of the devices. 

Unlike other major companies around the world, who release lame mission statements pledging millions and billions of dollars to fight against climate change, Apple is showing actual work being executed on ground earnestly with each passing year since July 2020, when it announced ambitious aim of turning carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030.

From the start— sourcing materials of building components--- to powering assembly unit and to the end of the product cycle, the Cupertino-based company wants to fully reduce the negative impact on the nature.

Apple plans to completely go zero carbon footprint

In the Wonderlust event, Apple showcased a fun corporate responsibility gig featuring mother nature (played by Octavia Spencer), highlighting the company’s important efforts. It said it is eliminating the use of all plastic in all product packaging by the end of 2024. It is using 100 per cent recycled aluminium in all of MacBooks, Apple TVs, Watches. Also, it is phasing out all leather-based accessories across its products including iPhone cases and Watch straps.

It is now replacing leather-based accessories with new fabric called FineWoven. It is said to be skin friendly and soft. It is durable twill made from 68 percent post-consumer recycled content. The FineWoven promises to offer subtle lustre and a soft, suedelike touch feel. It will be available on iPhone MagSafe cases and wallets as well as the Magnetic Link and Modern Buckle Apple Watch bands.

Several key components in the new iPhone 15 series are 100 per cent recycled. 

Furthermore, the latest iPhone 15 series and the Apple Watch lineups come with 100 percent recycled rare earth magnets. Also, cobalt used for the products’ battery is also 100 percent recycled. Even the Sport Loop has been redesigned with 82 percent recycled yarn, which includes material from discarded fishing nets.

Also, it said the company’s corporate offices including Apple Stores and data centres run on clean energy from windmills and solar-power. All the offices are said to be already carbon neutral. Add to that more than 300 supply partners are now running their units from clean renewable energy. 

Also, transportation of products around the world, which is said to contribute nine per cent of Apple’s carbon footprint, will soon be reduced.

All the Apple Watch line up available for purchase now come with carbon neutral option.

“The company is shifting more product volume to shipping modes that are less carbon-intensive than air transport, such as ocean or rail. Apple’s carbon footprint methodology shows that shipping the same product by ocean emits 95 percent fewer emissions than by air,” Apple said.

The company also noted that it is help local agencies to protect and even grow forests around in global regions including Brazil, Paraguay, restore mangrove forests in Columbia, and grasslands in Kenya. 

Now, with the carbon neutral Apple Watches, the company has achieved a new milestone and is another step close to achieve the target. Going by the speed of execution, it won’t be surprise if the company achieves the feat long before the deadline.

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