April 17, 2024
update
Apple expands investment in clean energy and water globally
Together, Apple and its partners are supporting more than 18 gigawatts of clean energy and delivering billions of gallons of water benefits and savings.
Apple today announced new progress to expand clean energy globally and increase momentum toward Apple 2030, the company's bold goal to achieve carbon neutrality across its entire value chain by the end of 2030. More than 18 gigawatts of clean electricity now powers Apple's global operations and manufacturing supply chain, more than tripling compared to 2020. Apple is making new investments in solar power in the U.S. and Europe to help customers solve problems with the electricity they use for charging and powering. Apple devices.
As part of its broader environmental efforts, Apple has made progress toward another ambitious 2030 goal. This means replenishing 100% of the fresh water used by businesses in highly stressed areas. This includes launching a new partnership to deliver approximately 7 billion gallons of water benefits over the next 20 years, from restoring aquifers and rivers to financing drinking water access. As with clean energy, Apple has expanded its commitment to clean water across its entire supply chain. Apple suppliers saved more than 12 billion gallons of freshwater last year, for a total of 76 billion gallons of water saved since Apple launched its suppliers. Clean Water Program 2013.
“Clean energy and water are the foundation of healthy communities and essential components of responsible business,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. “We are racing toward our ambitious Apple 2030 climate goals while doing the long-term work of transforming our power grid and restoring our watersheds to build a cleaner future for everyone,” she said.
New renewable capacity added globally
The electricity used to manufacture, charge, and power Apple products makes up the largest portion of Apple's overall carbon footprint. As part of Apple 2030, Apple is calling on its global suppliers to use clean electricity and be carbon neutral across all Apple-related operations. above 320 suppliers, representing 95% of Apple's direct manufacturing spending, have led the transition to date and now generate 16.5 gigawatts of renewable energy online in Apple's supply chain. This generated more than 25.5 million megawatt hours of clean energy and prevented more than 18.5 million metric tons of carbon emissions across the supply chain last year.
To address greenhouse gas emissions associated with customer device use, Apple has pledged to connect every watt of its charging power to clean electricity by 2030, including through significant investments in renewable energy in markets around the world. This is part of a broader strategy to minimize emissions from the use of Apple products by improving efficiency, engaging customers in grid decarbonization opportunities, and building clean power projects that maximize carbon reduction and social impact. In the US, Apple is investing in a portfolio of solar projects across Michigan, with construction underway to bring 132 megawatts of clean energy online later this year. In Spain, Apple has partnered with ib vogt, an international solar development platform, to make investments that will produce 105 MW of solar power when the project begins by the end of 2024.
To address the company's growing operations in India, Apple also entered into a joint venture with leading renewable developer CleanMax to invest in a portfolio of six rooftop solar projects totaling 14.4 megawatts. The added capacity provides a local solution for powering Apple's offices, two retail stores and other business locations in India. Apple achieved 100% renewable energy for its global operations for the first time in 2018.
Apple's commitment to renewable energy has created new capabilities in markets around the world. In 2018, Apple took an innovative approach by connecting 12 of its suppliers operating in China to renewable energy sources through the China Clean Energy Fund. The fund has now exceeded its goal and invested in more than 1 gigawatt of new wind and solar projects across 14 Chinese provinces. Collectively, these projects are expected to provide more than 2,400 gigawatt hours of renewable energy each year, equivalent to the residential electricity consumption of more than 2.5 million people in China.
Improving water resilience through nature-based solutions
Apple aims to improve water security everywhere we do business through collaboration and innovative long-term partnerships across our manufacturing supply chain. This restores ecosystems, addresses community water needs, and improves the watershed's climate resilience. Because the impact of water is felt locally, Apple has begun freshwater replenishment efforts in some of the most stressed regions where the company operates, including Northern and Southern California, the Colorado River Basin in Arizona, and the Indian states of Telangana and Maharashtra. . Apple is pursuing innovative strategies and long-term contracts aimed at delivering water benefits and cost savings across the entire basin, modeled after the company's approach to renewable energy procurement. Since 2023, Apple has invested more than $8 million to replenish freshwater in stressed watersheds. The projects announced today are expected to provide a total of 6.9 billion gallons of water benefits over the next 20 years.
In Northern California, Apple is working with River Partners to restore natural features in a 750-acre floodplain where the Sacramento River, Feather River, and Butte Creek meet. This confluence of waterways, the largest in California, provides an important resting point for native chinook salmon along their route to the Pacific Ocean. Restoring the area will involve planting hundreds of thousands of native plants and reconnecting extensive historic floodplains, making the region and downstream communities more resilient to climate-driven flooding. Apple's investment is expected to leverage the benefits of approximately 5 billion gallons of freshwater over 20 years by significantly reducing water demand at the site and encouraging healthy flooding patterns to recharge underground aquifers. Dos Rios Norte restoration is also being funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Department of Natural Resources, California Wildlife Conservation Commission, and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
In the greater Phoenix area, where Apple's Mesa data center is located, Apple is working with the Salt River Project (SRP) to protect approximately 30,000 acres of forest at significant risk of wildfire. Through a 10-year plan to strategically thin the forests of the Colorado River Basin, this project will protect the basin from devastation from wildfires and ensure that upstream reservoirs can continue to support local communities. Apple's investment, the largest investment through SRP's Resilient Water and Forests Initiative, is expected to provide approximately 2 billion gallons of water benefits to the region.
Last year, Apple achieved its goal of 100% water replenishment for the company's operations in India through ongoing work with the Uptime Catalyst Facility. In 2023, Apple's support will provide communities with 23 million gallons of clean, affordable drinking water from more than 300 water kiosks run by local entrepreneurs through innovative, performance-based programs. In another important region, Southern California, we are continuing a project to remove the invasive Arundo donax cane species from the Los Angeles River Basin, saving 21 million gallons of water each year.
In addition to pursuing watershed restoration and other nature-based replenishment solutions in high-stress areas, Apple is committed to smart water management across its business. In 2021, Apple's data center in Prineville, Oregon became the first data center to be certified by the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) International Water Stewardship Standard, a trusted global framework for measuring responsible water stewardship. Since then, Apple has certified four additional data centers to the standard and helped 20 partner sites also achieve certification. Last year, seven supplier sites in southern India and more than 20 supplier sites near Shanghai and Suzhou, China participated in water management training with AWS and others in the industry.
Accelerating development through green investments
Apple's green bonds in the U.S. and around the world have also helped make these new investments possible. Last year, Apple allocated proceeds from its 2019 Green Bonds to new clean energy projects such as a new solar project in Michigan and the IP Radian Solar project in Texas, support for supplier clean energy programs, and investments in high-quality carbon removal. Restore funds. Since 2016, Apple has issued a total of $4.7 billion in green bonds, with approximately $3.4 billion allocated to date.
For more information about Apple's green bond efforts, visit investor.apple.com/Apple_GreenBond_Report. This year's Annual Impact Report details Apple's 2019 Green Bond proceeds for environmental projects with expenditures incurred between September 29, 2019 and September 30, 2023 (Apple's fiscal years 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020). Includes cumulative allocations. Sustainalytics provided a second opinion on selected projects and Ernst & Young LLP provided attestation reports on expenditures.
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