Taking another step towards its goal of becoming carbon neutral across its supply chain and products by 2030, the tech giant said another 175 Apple suppliers will transition to using renewable energy, bringing in more than 9 gigawatts of clean power around the world. These actions, an Apple statement said, “will avoid over 18 million metric tons of CO2e annually — the equivalent of taking nearly four million cars off the road each year”.

“Every company should be a part of the fight against climate change, and together with our suppliers and local communities, we’re demonstrating all of the opportunity and equity green innovation can bring,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO in the statement. “We’re acting with urgency, and we’re acting together. But time is not a renewable resource, and we must act quickly to invest in a greener and more equitable future.”

Wind turbines at the Montague Wind Power Facility in Oregon. (Image source: Apple)

On the new companies joining Apple’s list, Sarah Chandler, Senior Director – Environment and Supply Chain Innovation at Apple, said this means they have committed to using 100% renewable energy for their Apple production. “That total list includes now every supplier working on the final assembly of Apple’s newest products, including some sites in India. It’s really exciting that we are starting to see some suppliers move beyond even their Apple footprint and really look to their total footprint and to be running on renewable energy for their other customers as well,” she said.

In India, these suppliers include Cheng Uei (Foxlink), Avary, CCL Design, Flex Ltd, Hon Hai, Jabil, Lingyi Tech, Pegatron, Sunwoda Electronics, Wistron, and Yuto.

The solar array at Apple’s Viborg data centre in Denmark. (Image source: Apple)

Apple said it has also added 10 new projects for its ‘Power For Impact’ initiative “designed to provide new renewable power to under-resourced communities while supporting economic growth and social impacts”.

While Apple is already carbon neutral across its global operations and has reduced its carbon footprint by over 40 per cent over the last five years, its goal is to ensure “every Apple device sold will have a net-zero climate impact” by 2030. Since this goal was announced last year, Cupertino has been on an overdrive increasing the number of its suppliers transitioning to renewable energy as well as expanding the amount of recycled material in its products.

The newest MacBook Pro is made with recycled materials. (Image source: Apple)

“We have a very global footprint. We are in over 20 countries with suppliers who are participating in the clean energy programme,” Chandler told indianexpress.com. “Some of them (suppliers) are already making their own commitments. And we are very excited to learn from one another and grow those commitments together. Others are new to this, yet they have been very enthusiastic and excited to learn, and maybe part of that is finding that renewable energy is a great business,” she said, explaining how renewable energy is often most reliable and cost-effective.

Asked if this means recommendations now what suppliers are also not supposed to do, Chandler added: “ Sometimes we want to make sure that as suppliers are transitioning to renewable energy, that they are doing so in a way in which they have a good experience. That’s really how we make sure that they are going to transition their energy use even beyond their load for Apple.” She said this means working with suppliers on “pitfalls we have seen in the past and things that would be helpful or not helpful”.

Chandler added that there are also times when Apple’s definition of renewable energy is a bit stricter than maybe some others. “So we have some guidance there as well. We want to make sure that everyone’s having a good experience. And spending their time wisely.”