Apple says its decision to shut down power adapters with products such as the iPhone 12 will save 861,000 tons of copper, zinc and tin. The resulting smaller packaging for the iPhone 12 allowed the company to deliver the device even more efficiently. The shipping pallets can each carry up to 70 percent more boxes for the iPhone 12, according to Apple.
The company made its complaints, which cover the fiscal year 2020. Last year, Apple reduced its CO2 emissions from 25.1 million tons in 2019 to 22.6 million. It also reduced energy consumption by 13.9 million kWh.
“As a company, we have moved forward with greater urgency than ever to create a stronger and healthier future for our planet and its people,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president for environment, policy and social initiatives. the opening letter of the report. “In 2020, this has meant real progress in our fight against climate change. Apple has become carbon neutral for our global operations and for our entire footprint – from our supply chain to the use of the products we make. The same products now use more recycled materials. materials like never before, such as the 40% recycled MacBook Air with Retina display and the 99% recycled tungsten we now use in the iPhone 12 and Apple Watch Series 6. “
The report mentions work at the Apple Materials Recovery Laboratory in Texas to recover materials such as rare earths, steel and tungsten from recycled iPhones. Apple says a metric ton of components that its Daisy disassembly robot removes from the iPhone has as much gold and copper as 150 metric tons of extracted ore. The company also said that 39,000 metric tons of e-waste was kept away from the landfill last year.
The Apple M1 chip is designed to be more efficient in terms of power consumption, and the company says that the use of the processor has reduced the overall carbon footprint of the system by 34%. Meanwhile, due in part to the switch to a more energy-efficient power adapter, the 8th-generation iPad requires 66% less power than the Energy Star rating requirement, Apple claims. In the last 12 years, Apple has reduced the average energy consumption of its products by more than 70%.
Efforts are expanding into Apple’s supply chain, where more than 110 suppliers have committed to using clean energy. In December, more than 90% installed technology to reduce F-GHG emissions associated with the entire display panel by more than 90%.
The report refers to some initiatives that were already known, such as Apple data centers that own and remove CO2 from the atmosphere by capturing carbon. However, it is a useful perspective on the progress that Apple is making in terms of the environment.
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