Apple helped suppliers double clean energy use in 2021

Lisa Jackson, VP of environment, policy and social initiatives. Credit: Apple

Through efforts such as using the world's first low-carbon aluminium in the iPhone SE, Apple is continuing to progress toward a goal of becoming entirely carbon-neutral by 2030. Now it has announced that over the course of 2021, the efforts of its suppliers meant the equivalent of removing three million cars from the road for one year.

"We are proud that so many of our manufacturing partners have joined our urgent work to address the climate crisis by generating more renewable energy around the world," said Lisa Jackson, vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives, in a statement sent to AppleInsider.

"Clean energy is good for business, and good for the planet," she continued. "By sharing what we learned in our own transition to renewables, we are helping point the way to a greener future."

The doubling of the use of clean power means "over 10 gigawatts operational today," out of Apple's plans for "nearly 16 gigawatts" in the coming years.

Apple says that 213 of its major manufacturing partners "have made commitments to power all Apple production with renewable electricity across 25 countries." Theis latest announcement includes "dozens of new commitments," all of which will "accelerate progress toward Apple's 2030 goal to become carbon neutral across its entire supply chain."

These latest commitments include eleven new suppliers in Europe, including wireless chip firm Infineon, which is using on-site solar power in Germany and Austria. DSM Engineering Materials is "supporting a wind project in the Netherlands," where it runs Apple's Viborg data center.

Including these, Apple now has 25 European suppliers committed to clean energy, and it is supporting Danish renewable energy projects.

Alongside its work with 213 direct manufacturing partners, Apple says it is also investing in renewable projects worldwide. These include "nearly 500 megawatts of solar and other renewable projects in China and Japan to cover a portion of upstream emissions."

US investment

Similarly, Apple is investing an unspecified amount in a 2,300-acre solar project in Brown County, Texas. This facility will be completed later in 2022, and Apple says it will then be able to generate 300 megawatts of electricity.

This is specifically intended to "help address the electricity customers use to charge their Apple devices," which Apple says, "represents 22% of the company's gross carbon footprint."

The latest announcement from Apple also reports that Dupont in Wilmington, Delaware, and Micron Technology of Boise, Idaho, have joined the commitment to clean energy.

China and Japan developments

At the same time, Apple reports that 23 new suppliers from China joined its program in 2021. It doesn't break down the details, but claims that "nearly all of Apple's top suppliers headquartered in China have committed to using clean energy for Apple production."

Japan is introducing new clean power options for business, making its Power Purchase Agreements system more widely available. Apple says that corporate energy buyers were previously limited, chiefly to buying energy from rooftop solar systems.

Now 20 new suppliers have signed up to Apple's program. And "many of Apple's other suppliers have invested in on-site solar energy."