Even Tim Cook Tenses Up Before 'Daejayeon'... Apple Challenges Carbon Zero by 2030

"All-Area Innovation... Reducing Impact on Earth"
Apple to Achieve Carbon Neutrality Across All Product Processes by 2030
Using Recycled Materials and Actively Utilizing Renewable Energy

A woman appears at an Apple executive meeting. All executives, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, tense up and watch her closely. She is 'Mother Nature.' Displeased with the hollow carbon neutrality declarations of global companies, Mother Nature listens to Apple's carbon neutrality status report and finally leaves the meeting room with a satisfied smile.

Apple CEO Tim Cook
Photo by Yonhap News

On the 12th (local time), Apple introduced its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality goals in a sitcom format at the 'Wonderlust' event held at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, USA. The role of 'Mother Nature' was played by Hollywood actress Octavia Spencer. Apple employees awkwardly acted alongside her, wittily portraying the carbon reduction efforts Apple has made so far.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the event, "We will innovate in every area to reduce our impact on the planet," and added, "We will make the climate impact of every Apple device zero by 2030."

He promised to use 100% clean energy in Apple product manufacturing by 2030. He explained that Apple's unique Supplier Clean Energy Program would contribute to this goal. Launched in 2015, this program aims to source 100% of the electricity needed for product manufacturing from renewable energy by 2030. The goal is to make the climate impact of the entire Apple product manufacturing process zero.

CEO Tim Cook said, "The costs spent on the program now account for more than 90% of Apple's direct manufacturing costs," and added, "We have taken a step closer to the ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality for all products by 2030."

Accordingly, Apple will stop using leather in all product lines, including all iPhone accessories and Apple Watch bands. Leather will be replaced with a new fabric material called FineWoven. This is a twill fabric composed of 68% post-consumer recycled materials discarded by consumers after use.

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will also be made from recycled materials. The battery will use 100% recycled cobalt, and 100% recycled copper will be used in the main logic board, Taptic Engine copper cables, and the copper coil inside the MagSafe inductive charger. This is a first in iPhone history. Seventy-five percent of the finishing materials will use recycled aluminum. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will be the first Apple products to use 100% recycled aluminum in their lower structures and 100% recycled cobalt in their batteries.

Apple will also work to reduce carbon emissions from product transportation. Transportation accounts for 9% of Apple's carbon emissions. Therefore, Apple is shifting more volume of products from air transport to lower carbon-intensive methods such as sea or rail transport. Apple explained that shipping the same products by sea reduces carbon emissions by 95% compared to air transport. When transporting Apple Watches, at least 50% of the total weight will be shipped by non-air methods, reducing total transportation carbon emissions by nearly half.

Apple will also expand efforts to use renewable energy with its suppliers. Suppliers operating in 28 countries have pledged to supply more than 20GW of renewable energy online through Apple's Supplier Clean Energy Program. Manufacturing partners involved include Skyworks Solutions, Analog Devices, Cirrus Logic in the U.S., and Renesas Electronics in Japan.

The prosecution has launched an investigation into Apple on suspicion of overcharging thousands of billions of won in in-app payment fees from domestic application developers. The photo shows the Apple Store Gangnam in Seoul on the 18th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Manufacturing partners include Skyworks Solutions, Analog Devices, Cirrus Logic in the U.S., and Renesas Electronics in Japan. The number of participating Korean suppliers increased by about 30% to 23 this year. In China, 14 companies, including Jingmen GEM, a key supplier of recycled materials used in Apple products, have pledged to use clean energy since April. Recently, companies such as Sappi Limited, Lemur, and Strollroller Textil AG joined across Europe, bringing the total number of suppliers to 34.

Lisa Jackson, Apple’s Vice President of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, said, "Apple's efforts to lead on climate change have been proven over a long period," adding, "We have already achieved industry-leading carbon emission reductions through our focus on renewable energy and low-carbon design, and we continue to keep up the momentum."

She added, "Achieving carbon neutrality for the world's most popular wristwatch product marks a very significant milestone," and said, "We plan to continue innovating to respond to the serious current situation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.