"Climate change is undeniable. Earth's resources won't last forever," reads Apple's Environmental Responsibility Report. "And technology must be safe for people to make and use. We don't question these realities — we challenge ourselves to ask what we can do about them in every part of our business."
While iPhones and iPads are tons of fun and for many users a quite literally indispensable part of their every day life, no doubt, one has to take into account the fact that all the luxury Apple (and all other electronic) products offer actually come at a price that can't be set in dollars as it's being paid in growing environmental issues. Apple is well aware of it and is now trying to make a difference, pushing their manufacturing partners to join in the fight against climate change as well.
In Apple's Environmental Responsibility Report (2017 Progress Report, Covering Fiscal Year 2016) there are three main goals written down as a focus point for the company: Apple will work on reducing the company's impact on climate change by using renewable energy sources and driving energy efficiency in their products and facilities, they will strive to conserve precious resources and pioneer the use of safer materials in their products and processes.
So how is Apple doing in achieving these goals? For starters, their new corporate campus, Apple Park, is as the company stated, on track to be the largest LEED Platinum–certified building in North America, powered by 100 percent renewable energy, 75 percent of which is generated onsite by a 17-megawatt rooftop solar installation and 4 megawatts of baseload biogas fuel cells. Over 80 percent of the new campus is open space with more than 9000 drought-tolerant trees.
The report states that in 2016, Apple's comprehensive carbon footprint was 29.5 million metric tons, compared with 38.4 million the year before, which is partly due to the company's environmental programs that include reduced emissions from aluminum manufacturing and installing clean energy in Apple's supply chain.
Another example would be iMessage, FaceTime, and Siri - did you know they all run on clean energy? Every iMessage, FaceTime call, downloaded song, or shared photo, takes energy, which is supplied by Apple data servers running on 100 percent renewable energy.
And there is so much more to what can be done and to what is being done right now - all the interesting facts and updates can be read in the report, but right now, what we can do is accept Apple's invitation "to join them in working to leave the world better than we found it."