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Apple cuts greenhouse gas emissions in half
Apple has reduced its overall greenhouse gas emissions by more than 55 percent since 2015, the company shared today in its 2024 Environmental Progress Report.
The milestone marks important progress on the journey toward Apple 2030, the company’s ambitious goal to become carbon neutral across its entire value chain by the end of this decade. The goal centers on cutting emissions by 75 percent from 2015 levels.
Lisa Jackson, vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, Apple: “The proof of Apple’s commitment to climate action is in our progress: We’ve slashed emissions by more than half, all while serving more users than ever before. More hard work is ahead of us, and we’re focused on harnessing the power of innovation and collaboration to maximize our impact.”
Teams across Apple and its global supply chain have contributed to Apple 2030 and the company’s environmental efforts, driving innovations in clean energy and energy efficiency, materials, carbon removal, water stewardship, zero waste, and recycling.
Paving the Way for Recycled Critical Materials
Apple’s work toward making products using only recycled and renewable materials has spurred innovation in sourcing and design — while driving major reductions in the company’s carbon footprint. This includes materials critical to the clean energy transition.
Last year, 56 percent of the cobalt shipped in Apple batteries came from recycled sources, more than double the year before.1 That includes the MacBook Air with M3, the first-ever Apple product to be made with 50 percent recycled material. And in another first, 24 percent of the lithium shipped in Apple batteries last year came from certified recycled sources.
For both lithium and cobalt, Apple is sourcing from post-industrial scrap and post-consumer scrap from end-of-life batteries. The company has also made strides with copper, using 100 percent recycled copper in key thermal applications in iPhone 15 and the 16-inch MacBook Pro, as well as the Taptic Engine and printed circuit boards across many product lines in the last year. The progress demonstrates real potential for recycling to help meet the growing demand for critical materials in the future.
Slashing Manufacturing Emissions with Suppliers
The ongoing transition to clean electricity across Apple’s supply chain has driven the majority of emissions reductions so far, with Apple’s Supplier Clean Energy Program now supporting over 16.5 gigawatts of renewable energy around the world. And by prioritizing energy efficiency in collaboration with Apple, more than 100 supplier facilities achieved over 2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity savings last year.
Together with additional energy savings — primarily associated with heat — these facilities avoided nearly 1.7 million metric tons of carbon emissions, up 25 percent from 2022. Apple is also working to address the direct climate impact of industrial processes, such as the manufacturing of flat-panel displays, which emits highly potent fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-GHGs).
Every display supplier has committed to a high standard of F-GHG abatement, and Apple is engaging with them to track emissions and deploy state-of-the-art abatement equipment at manufacturing sites.
Designing to Remove Plastic
Apple’s journey to remove plastic from its packaging is fueled by innovation, using fiber-based plastic alternatives that still provide an unmatched unboxing experience for customers. In the last year, Apple reached a milestone with the release of its first-ever 100 percent fiber-based packaging in the new Apple Watch lineup and for Apple Vision Pro.
Across every product Apple shipped last year, only 3 percent of the packaging was made from plastic. Teams continue to innovate — this week, Apple published a new white paper with the University of British Columbia’s BioProducts Institute that analyzes the challenges with current consumer packaging and explores more sustainable future solutions through the use of advanced fiber-based materials.
And in partnership with RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Apple announced the development of a fiber-based alternative to the protective foams widely used in many types of packaging.
Partnering with Communities to Drive Change
As Apple accelerates work to address climate change, the company is also focused on supporting efforts led by communities experiencing disproportionate impacts. Through its Strengthen Local Communities program, Apple is providing a series of new grants to organizations worldwide that are taking action to protect the health and wellbeing of their communities.
In the U.S., Apple is also supporting the growth of Justice Outside’s Network for Network Leaders program to promote the outdoors, environmental education, and environmental justice. Apple has also worked with the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya to support water harvesting and climate-smart agriculture by funding a rainwater catchment system at the Lewa school in Mutunyi and drip irrigation kits for farmers working to encourage more sustainable agriculture practices in their communities.
This year, the company will build on this work with new support for Lewa’s community water access programs. And in Australia, Apple will extend its funding for the Karrkad Kanjdji Trust (KKT), an organization led by the traditional owners of Warddeken and Djelk Indigenous protected areas. Apple’s grant will support KKT’s Indigenous Women Rangers Program and conservation activities across the protected areas.
Josephine Austral extinguishes her drip torch after conducting ground burning in the Mimal Land Management area.
Everlyn Mardi establishes a fire break near Emu Springs before wildfire season begins.
Maureen Namarnyilk in the Nawarrdeken Academy classroom in the Warddeken Indigenous Protected Area.
