Recently Apple announced significant progress in its efforts to globally advance water conservation and expand clean energy as part of its determined environmental roadmap for 2030. Among the batch of new projects and partnerships revealed are water replenishment work and renewable energy deployments in India.
At the core of Apple’s announcement is an increase in clean electricity now powering its worldwide operations and supply chain to over 18 gigawatts, which is more than triple the amount in 2020. Mostly, more than 300 dealers who represent 95% of Apple’s direct manufacturing spend have transitioned to renewable energy sources for Apple production, which results in 16.5 gigawatts of renewable capacity online in the company’s supply chain.
To address emissions from customers charging their devices, Apple has promised to match every watt of charging electricity with clean energy by 2030. This commitment has encouraged large-scale investments in new renewable capacities across various markets worldwide.
Specifically In India, Apple is partnering with CleanMax, a leading renewable developer, on a joint venture to invest in a 14.4-megawatt portfolio of six rooftop solar projects. This localized renewable solution will help meet the power needs of Apple’s corporate offices, two retail stores, and other operations across the country.
For Apple’s water conservation work, India is one of the key regions. The company achieved 100% water replenishment for its corporate operations in India last year through an innovative program with Uptime Catalyst Facility that provided 23 million gallons of affordable, clean drinking water through over 300 community water kiosks.
Building on this, Apple revealed new long-term partnerships that hope to replenish freshwater sources in the high-stress Indian states of Telangana and Maharashtra. Part of over $8 million in new project funding, these initiatives are projected to deliver a combined 6.9 billion gallons of water benefits over 20 years through measures like restoring aquifers and rivers.
Globally to tackle water stress, Apple is taking a watershed-based method, by introducing replenishment work in other high-impact regions in the United States like Northern and Southern California and Arizona’s Colorado River Basin. Last year alone, The company’s Supplier Clean Water Programme allowed over 12 billion gallons in freshwater savings across its supply chain.
Internationally, the tech giant’s renewable procurement strategies allowed a supply chain-wide output of 25.5 million megawatt-hours of clean electricity in 2023, avoiding over 18.5 million metric tons of carbon emissions. Key renewable investments such as Apple’s China Clean Energy Fund have opened more than 1 gigawatt of new wind and solar projects.
As one of the world’s largest tech companies, Apple is positioning robust environmental programs as crucial to its core strategy for the remainder of this decade. A famous section of last year’s iPhone launch event was dedicated to explaining how the company is working on reducing its carbon footprint. The event also witnessed the launch of the company’s first carbon-neutral products. The aluminum Apple Watch Series 9 or SE when paired with the new Sport Loop band is carbon neutral, for instance.
