Apple unveils its first carbon neutral products – New Apple Watch lineup marks major progress toward ambitious Apple 2030 climate goal
02 April 2024: Apple has launched its first-ever carbon neutral products in all-new Apple Watch lineup. Innovations in design and clean energy have driven dramatic reductions in product emissions of over 75 percent for each carbon neutral Apple Watch.1 This milestone marks a major step in the company’s journey toward its ambitious Apple 2030 goal to make every product carbon neutral by the end of the decade, including the entire global supply chain and the lifetime use of every device Apple makes.
As part of Apple 2030 environmental efforts, Apple has also ended the use of leather across all of its product lines, announced its first entirely fibre-based packaging for new Apple Watch lineup,2 and continued to expand the use of recycled materials in iPhone. The company also introduced a new tool in the Home app called Grid Forecast,3 which helps inform users when their power grid has cleaner energy available, so they can decide when to use electricity.
“At Apple, we have a longstanding and proven commitment to leading the fight against climate change. Our focus on renewable energy and low-carbon design has already driven industry-leading emissions reductions, and we’re not slowing down,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. “We’ve achieved an important milestone in making the world’s most popular watch carbon neutral – and we will keep innovating to meet the urgency of the moment.”
Every Product Carbon Neutral by 2030
Apple has adopted a clear and rigorous approach to product decarbonisation that prioritises reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the three biggest sources across the product life cycle: electricity, materials, and transportation. Only after Apple steeply cuts product emissions, will the company apply high-quality carbon credits from nature-based projects for emissions that cannot yet be avoided or reduced with existing solutions.
Each carbon neutral Apple Watch model meets the following strict criteria: 100 percent clean electricity for manufacturing and product use, 30 percent recycled or renewable material by weight, and 50 percent of shipping without the use of air transportation.4 These combined efforts result in at least a 75 percent reduction in product emissions for each model. The company will use high-quality carbon credits to address the small amount of remaining emissions, resulting in a carbon neutral product footprint.
