Apple's 2017 Environmental Report: Driving 100% Green Energy in the Supply Chain to Achieve a "Closed-Circuit Supply Chain" On Earth Day, Apple released its latest environmental report, outlining its efforts to ensure 100% renewable energy use throughout its supply chain and Apple's own facilities. The company aims to eliminate the need for new mining and instead use recycled materials in its product development. To this end, Apple has implemented several construction projects. One such project is Apple's new data center in Jutland, Denmark, which will operate on renewable energy and will also feed back the significant amount of heat generated by the data center to the local community as energy for its heating system. Part of the data center's energy comes from biogas produced from agricultural waste, and some of the waste materials used to produce biogas can be recycled into fertilizer and given back to local farmers. Apple's technology was developed in collaboration with Aarhus University, Denmark's largest university. Furthermore, because it uses renewable energy, the data center will not burden the local power grid and can operate independently. Generally, data centers have mechanisms for recovering heat energy, but some simply discharge it directly. A few data centers, like Amazon's, use excess heat for office heating. Another new facility is a new data center in Ireland, where Apple is using tidal power in partnership with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. Founded in 2002, this official Irish agency aims to make Ireland a country primarily reliant on renewable energy. Furthermore, Apple has launched its largest-ever wind power procurement program in Oregon, USA, to support its data centers there. Currently, Apple's own data centers are 100% renewable, but some colocation facilities are not. As for Apple's offices and Apple Stores worldwide, they are already 96% renewable. Apple's definition of "renewable energy" includes wind, solar, and hydropower. The soon-to-be-opened new headquarters, Apple Park, will also be 100% renewable. However, since Apple's primary energy consumption actually lies in its vast supply chain, Apple has launched the "Clean Energy Portal," a supply chain-related renewable energy initiative, to help its partners switch to renewable energy. Apple states that by 2020, they will be able to produce 4 gigawatts of clean energy globally, including 2 gigawatts in China. This will account for 30% of their total carbon emissions, or the carbon emissions of 1.5 million cars per year for 20 consecutive years. Some suppliers have already committed to using green electricity, such as the Japanese printed circuit board manufacturer Ibiden. In the long term, this could be a key investment for gaining access to Apple's supply chain. Taiwanese manufacturers, including Compal and Catcher Technology, have planned to fully switch to renewable energy production by 2018—but only for parts of Apple's supply chain. It is rumored that Apple also met with the Taiwanese government, solar energy, and wind power companies in 2016, hoping to get Taiwanese Apple supply chain companies to switch to renewable energy by the end of 2018. Apple, which recently released its annual environmental report, outlined a unique plan: to stop mining new resources so that every future Apple product can be made from recycled materials. Apple calls this production method a "closed-loop" supply chain. Apple points out that traditional production methods are linear: first, raw materials are mined, then processed, shipped, consumed, and finally dumped in landfills. However, The New York Times reported in 2013 that Delhi in India, Agbogbloshie in Ghana, and Qingyuan and Guiyu towns in Guangdong, China, are all places where large amounts of electronic waste are dismantled or buried. In addition to organized businesses, impoverished local residents sometimes burn discarded mobile phones themselves and then sell small amounts of gold to recycling companies. As for the toxic lead and the thick smoke produced during burning, they remain in the area. Apple's "closed-loop" production line ends both the raw material mining and waste disposal ends. On the one hand, it uses only recyclable parts to manufacture products, and on the other hand, it recycles various renewable resources to reduce dependence on resource extraction. To this end, Apple first announced a robotic production line called "Liam" in March 2016 to completely disassemble iPhones, and also launched a recycling program called "Apple Renew." At the time, the iPhone SE and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro were also announced alongside Liam. In addition to components, wastewater generated during production is also handled by the closed-loop production line. Currently, Apple has 86 factories, with a wastewater reuse rate of 36%. In 2016, Apple's supply chain saved 11.3 million cubic meters of water; and 99% of the packaging paper for Apple products is made from recycled paper or trees from sustainable forests. They also hope to make Apple products more durable, allowing the first user to resell or donate the product to other users, thus reducing resource consumption. Apple plans for iOS devices and Apple Watch to be usable for 3 years, while Macs and Apple TVs will be usable for 4 years. Apple states that their environmental protection decisions are made jointly by CEO Tim Cook and Vice President Lisa P. Jackson. Because of its high-level status, Apple's Environmental Initiatives has the authority to collaborate with all teams, including the product design department. Source: CSRone Sustainability Reporting Platform (April 24, 2017)
