Apple pushes suppliers to use “clean” electricity for production

Apple suppliers have more than doubled the amount of clean electricity they use in the past year, the company announced on April 14. Projects recycled energy which they support prevented 13.9 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere. This has an impact roughly equivalent to taking 3 million cars off the road in a year, The Verge reports.

This is part of Apple’s efforts to limit climate change by 2030. The company’s 2020 climate pledge is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75% this decade. and find ways to reduce the remaining causes of climate pollution.

Unlike other companies that only promise to remove pollution from in-person operations, Apple has gone a step further when it comes to pledging to cut emissions from its supply chain and customer use of its products. That would be the biggest reduction to date for the company because those indirect emissions make up the bulk of Apple’s carbon footprint.

In addition to having a larger impact than just focusing on the company’s operations, reducing emissions in the supply chain has the added impact of motivating other companies to take their actions. Apple publishes a list of its top suppliers each year, and about 60% of those major suppliers are on the list of companies that have committed to producing “100% clean electricity.” Dozens of smaller suppliers have made similar commitments.

However, making the claim of using “100% clean electricity” is not simple. Apple announced in 2018 that it was starting to use 100% renewable energy, but that doesn’t mean its stores and offices are actually running on wind and solar power all the time.

As a result, companies often purchase Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from energy suppliers, which represent the environmental benefits of projects. recycled energy, to offset their “unclean” electricity use. Apple and its suppliers also purchase these credits. Apple’s Supplier Clean Energy Program purchased credits equivalent to 360,000 tonnes of carbon emissions to “address a small increase in carbon emissions”.