Apple announced that it has surpassed a 60 percent reduction in its global greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2015 levels, as part of Apple’s 2030 plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions over the next five years. The company has achieved several other key environmental milestones, including the use of 99 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets and 99 percent recycled cobalt in all Apple-built batteries
“We take great pride in our progress toward Apple’s 2030 goal, which affects every area of our business,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. “Today, we use more clean energy and recycled materials to manufacture our products than ever before, we save water and avoid waste generation around the world, as well as investing heavily in nature. As we approach 2030, the work gets harder, and we’re rising to the challenge with innovation, collaboration, and urgency.”
Apple’s 2030 strategy prioritizes a 75 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2015, the baseline year, before applying high-quality carbon credits to offset the remaining emissions. Last year, Apple’s extensive efforts to reduce all of its carbon emissions, including continuously transitioning the supply chain to renewable electricity and designing products with more recycled materials, avoided 41 million metric tons in estimated greenhouse gas emissions.
As Apple celebrates Earth Day with its teams, partners, and customers around the world, including a special offer for those who bring devices to recycle, this is a summary of the company’s progress on its environmental initiatives.
Stepping up the use of clean energy in Apple’s supply chain
Thanks to the company’s long collaboration with its suppliers in transitioning to fully renewable energy in Apple’s production by 2030, there are now 17.8 gigawatts of renewable electricity in use in Apple’s global supply chain. Renewable energy purchased by Apple’s suppliers avoided 21.8 million metric tons in greenhouse gas emissions in 2024, an increase of more than 17% from the previous year. In addition, suppliers avoided nearly 2 million metric tons in emissions last year by working with Apple to optimize energy efficiency.
Encouraging the production of semiconductors with less impact
In addition to suppliers’ transition to clean energy, Apple is working with its supply chain to reduce the direct impact of industrial processes on the climate. This includes the manufacture of semiconductors and flat panel displays, which emit fluorinated greenhouse gases. Today, Apple is announcing that 26 of its direct semiconductor suppliers have committed to reducing at least 90 percent of fluorinated greenhouse gases at Apple-related production facilities by 2030. As many of these installations also serve other customers, this advance will not only be felt at Apple. In addition, 100% of the company’s direct screen suppliers have made the same commitment. In 2024, display and semiconductor suppliers decreased 8.4 million metric tons in greenhouse gas emissions, and new commitments will accelerate this progress in the coming years.
Expanding the use of recycled and renewable materials
Apple continues to use more recycled and renewable materials in its products, helping to lower carbon emissions without compromising quality or performance. Earlier this year, Apple exceeded 99 percent of its goals to use 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets and 100 percent recycled cobalt in all Apple-made batteries by 2025. Magnets are by far the most significant use of rare earth elements in Apple products, and Apple-created batteries make up 97 percent of the company’s total cobalt use. Apple is committed to responsible sourcing of recycled and primary minerals and implements high environmental and human rights standards in its supply chain.
Eliminating millions of metric tons of waste
In 2024, suppliers participating in Apple’s Zero Waste Program redirected approximately 600,000 metric tons of waste from landfills, totaling 3.6 million metric tons since the program’s inception in 2015. This is the equivalent of eliminating 4.5 million square meters of landfill area. Apple and its suppliers are innovating to further accelerate progress, whether it’s using recyclable protective films and reusable trays in manufacturing or recovering valuable metals from the liquid waste generated during the manufacture of printed circuit boards.
Innovating to reduce product emissions
Apple’s environmental advancement continues to show up in the products. Earlier this year, the company introduced the new MacBook Air with more than 55 percent recycled content, the most in any Apple product. Last year, Apple introduced the new Mac mini, its first carbon-neutral Mac. And customers can choose a carbon-neutral option from any Apple Watch made of any material. Apple’s carbon-neutral products are the result of innovations to significantly reduce emissions across the three largest sources — materials, electricity, and transportation — before using high-quality carbon credits from nature-based projects to offset the small amount of remaining emissions.
Saving billions of gallons of water every year
Apple and its suppliers have saved more than 90 billion gallons of fresh water since the creation of the Supplier Clean Water Program in 2013, which promotes water reuse, efficiency in use and other initiatives at facilities around the world. The average reuse rate of participating suppliers was 42% last year, a saving of 14 billion gallons of water in 2024 alone. In Apple’s corporate operations, the company has set a goal to replenish 100% of water abstraction in places with high water stress by 2030. Apple has already begun long-term partnerships corresponding to more than 40% of this goal. This includes supporting new and existing replacement projects in the United States, India, and Africa, which are expected to generate nearly 9 billion gallons in water benefits over the next 20 years.
