In addition to bringing on an additional 200 MW in northern, eastern and southern China, the tech giant said it will launch an initiative to “drive its manufacturing partners to become more energy efficient and to use clean energy for their manufacturing operations”.
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The programs will avoid over 20 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in China between now and 2020, according to Apple.
The company’s investors have pushed for Apple to focus less on green initiatives and more on profit, but between new programs such as those announced today, the partnership announced with the Conservation Fund in the U.S. earlier this year, and CEO Tim Cook’s bullish stance on the sanctity of the environment, it seems like Apple won’t be changing its sustainable course any time soon.
The company now says its China operations are “carbon neutral” because the solar installations produce more energy than is used at its offices and retail stores throughout the country.
Apple has been pushing forward renewable sources, and reportedly, the company is setting out with two new projects to improve the state of environment and the impact it has in the country. Apple will partner with suppliers in China to install more than 2 gigawatts of new clean energy in the coming years.
Amid at ending the ongoing criticism, which claims that now the Apple’s local partner in china are tagged as heavy polluters, the Apple has decide to green its Chinese supply chain by building 200 megawatts of solar energy projects in China.
Apple’s major supplier, Foxconn, plans to build solar power generators with around twice the capacity of those announced by Apple, starting in central China’s Henan Province, by 2018. Foxconn has committed to generate as much clean energy as its Zhengzhou factory consumes in final production of iPhone. “Our companies share a vision for driving sustainability and I hope that this renewable energy project will serve as a catalyst for continued efforts to promote a greener ecosystem in our industry and beyond”, said Terry Gou, founder and CEO of Foxconn Technology Group. Greenpeace U.S. senior IT sector analyst Gary Cook said in a statement that Apple leads the sector in building a renewably powered Internet, and that Samsung, Microsoft and other IT companies would hopefully follow their lead.
Apple has 334 suppliers in China, and 72 percent of its carbon emissions are generated in its supply chain.
Apple has also taken steps to operate more cleanly in its home state of California.
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Apple also has a financial incentive to help make China a better place to live. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
