Apple is striving to make its entire product portfolio carbon neutral by 2030. But VP Lisa Jackson, essentially Apple's chief sustainability officer, is set to retire in January 2026 and it sounds like the iPhone maker plants to eliminate the CSO role.
Apple has reduced its CO₂ emissions by 60% since 2015, according to an April 2025 statement. And since 2018, all of Apple’s corporate offices, data centers and retail stores worldwide have been powered by renewable electricity, the company asserts.
On the partner front, more than 300 global suppliers have now joined Apple’s Supplier Clean Energy Program, committing to 100% renewable electricity for all production by the end of this decade, the company asserts.
Beyond its 2030 carbon neutral goal, Apple is also working toward a 90% reduction in emissions by 2050, the company said.
Still, some critics think Apple can do more to influence sustainability practices globally. And critics worry that Jackson's departure -- and the elimination of her overall position -- will weaken Apple's sustainability focus.
With that context in mind, here's a closer look at key sustainability milestones, priorities and challenges facing the company...
December 2025 - Business Updates:
- CSO Leaving: Lisa Jackson, vice president for Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, will retire in late January 2026. No successor for Jackson is planned. Instead, Apple's Environment and Social Initiatives teams will report to Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan.
- AI Executive Shakeup: Apple AI chief John Giannandrea is stepping down in the most visible shake up yet to the iPhone maker’s AI group since launching the struggling Apple Intelligence suite in 2024, CNBC noted. Microsoft and Google DeepMind veteran Amar Subramanya will succeed Giannandrea in the Apple AI role.
November 2025 - Business Updates:
- Staff Cuts: Apple layoffs will impact dozens of salespeople, Bloomberg reported.
- 3D Printing in Manufacturing: All Apple Watch Ultra 3 and titanium Apple Watch Series 11 cases as of 2025 are 3D-printed with 100% recycled aerospace-grade titanium powder, the company said.
- CEO Transition?: Apple is sharpening its CEO succession plan amid rumors that Tim Cook could step down as soon as 2026, the Financial Times reported.
- Supply Chain Sustainability: Seven in 10 AI giants received failing grades for their supply chain decarbonization efforts, according to Greenpeace. However, Apple was honored with a grade of B, according to Euronews.
- Australia and New Zealand: Apple continues to expand its sustainability efforts in Australia and New Zealand, MacObserver reported.
October 2025 - Business Updates
- October 31 - iPhone Right to Repair: Apple's Self Service Repair program now includes the new iPhone 17 lineup, NewsBytesApp reported.
- October 14 - European Renewable Energy Consumption: Apple will "significantly expand" its use of solar and wind projects across Europe. The effort involves solar and wind farms that will add add 650 MW of renewable energy capacity, the company said.
September 2025 - Business Updates
- September 7 - South Korea: Apple will lean on South Korean companies as part of a larger global supply chain and sustainability strategy, according to Pulse, as reported by DevDiscourse.
August 2025 - Business Updates and Industry Viewpoints
- August 26 - Apple Watch - Not Carbon Neutral?: Apple can no longer advertise its Apple Watch as a "CO2-neutral product" in Germany, following a court ruling that upheld a complaint from environmentalists, finding that the U.S. tech company had misled consumers, Reuters reported.
- August 14 - Critical Opinion: In a Trellis editorial, two sustainability experts called on Apple to extend beyond its internal climate efforts and "drive change at a societal level." Among their key points: "By using power, lobbying force, political influence and more, the company could change the corporate climate game," co-authors Auden Schendler and Bill Weihl asserted.
- August 12 - AI Opportunities and Challenges: The company is on track to be carbon neutral across its entire footprint by 2030, Apple told Wired. But Wired suggests that Apple's progress on sustainability is slowing down.
July 2025 Updates
June 2025 Business Updates
- June 21 - Mobile Device Energy Consumption: In the European Union, Apple's website now features energy labels on product pages for iPhones and iPads, TechTimes reported. The labels, similar to those on home appliances, are designed to tell consumers about the device's energy efficiency, longevity, and repairability, the report said.
- June 20 - Lawsuit vs. Apple AI Claims: Shareholders sued Apple in a proposed securities fraud class action, alleging Apple downplayed how long it needed to integrate advanced AI into its Siri voice assistant, hurting iPhone sales and its stock price, Reuters reported.
April 2025 - Business Updates
March 2025 - Business Updates
- China Green Energy Investment: Apple set up new clean energy fund in China worth 720 million yuan ($99.22 million), coinciding with a Beijing visit of its CEO Tim Cook, Reuters reported. The move is part of the company's efforts to transition its supply chain to 100% renewable energy by 2030, Apple said.
February 2025 - Business Updates
- Greenwashing Lawsuit: Several Apple Watch customers have filed suit against Apple, alleging that the company's "carbon neutral" Apple Watch claims are misleading, the Nasdaq news service reported. The coverage did not mention if Apple has replied to the suit.
- Investments: Apple plans to spend and invest more than $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years, and will the company expects to hire 20,000 new workers. The effort will include a new AI server manufacturing facility, set to open in 2026 in Houston, Texas. Apple also plans to add data center capacity in North Carolina, Iowa, Oregon, Arizona and Nevada. All Apple data centers leverage renewable energy, the company asserts. Apple and many other IT companies are developing on-shore manufacturing plans in a bid to avoid or minimize potential tariffs from the Trump administration.
- AI Data Centers: All Apple facilities run on 100% renewable electricity — including the data centers that power Apple Intelligence, the company said.
- New iPhone: The new iPhone 16e features over 30% recycled content overall, including 100% recycled cobalt and 95% recycled lithium in the battery, and an 85% recycled aluminum in the enclosure, the company said.
January 2025: Business Updates
- Lawsuit: Plaintiffs have sued Apple for allegedly selling smartwatch wristbands that contain high levels of "forever chemicals" known as PFAS -- which may be linked to harmful health effects in humans, The Register reported. The Register reached out to Apple for comment, but a response apparently was not received as of January 22, 2025.
- DEI Efforts: Apple's board of directors recommended investors vote against a shareholder proposal to abolish the company's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, Reuters reported, based on a proxy filing from the company.
December 2024: Business Updates
- Partnership - AWS AI Chips: Apple is using AWS AI chips for services like search and will evaluate if the latest AWS AI chip can be used to pre-train its models like Apple Intelligence, CNBC reported.
October 2024: Business Updates
- Apple Watches: Customers can now "choose a carbon-neutral option of any Apple Watch," CEO Tim Cook said during Apple's Q4 2024 earnings call. The statement surfaced roughly one year after Apple introduced its first carbon-neutral watch in September 2023 -- though the claim involves Apple purchasing various carbon offsets.
- Mac Mini: The new Mac mini is Apple’s first carbon neutral Mac, though Apple leverages carbon credits to offset about 20% of emissions associated with the new computer.
September 2024: Business Updates
August 2024: Business Updates
- Launch Event: Apple will unveil the iPhone 16 and other new devices during a September 9 launch event at the company's headquarters. We'll be watching to see if or how Apple touts carbon neutral or sustainable products at the gathering. During the 2023 launch event, a carbon neutral Apple Watch surfaced. But some critics questioned the carbon neutral claims, since the associated formula included Apple purchasing carbon credits.
- AI PCs - Apple Market Share: Apple currently dominates 60% of the AI-capable PC market, according to Canalys. AI-capable PCs typically include a dedicated chipset to run AI workloads locally, the research firm says. Example AI-focused chipsets include AMD XDNA, Apple Neural Engine, Intel AI Boost and Qualcomm Hexagon, SeekingAlpa noted. The big questions: Do customers actually realize they're buying AI-capable PCs, and will they use the devices for AI-intensive applications?
July 2024: Business Updates
- Partnership - Generative AI: Apple will get an observer role on OpenAI’s board as part of a landmark agreement announced in June 2024, Bloomberg reported, further tightening ties between the once-unlikely partners.
- OpenAI Boardroom: Microsoft and Apple will drop their OpenAI boardroom observer seats amid antitrust scrutiny, the Financial Times reported.
- Japan: A renewable energy initiative, whose members include Apple, Meta and Nike, called on Japan to triple its capacity of clean electricity as the country reviews its national energy strategy, Bloomberg reported. The initiative known as RE100 suggested that the nation increase its installed capacity of renewable power to 363 gigawatts by 2035 from 121 gigawatts in 2022, the report noted.
June 2024: Business Updates
- Modular iPhone? Apple's patent efforts include a modular iPhone design. Example use cases include allowing users to swap out the standard back panel for one with a back-facing display, Glucose meter+ or more, according to Patently Apple. In theory, modular smartphones are more sustainable than traditional smartphones since users could potentially swap out or replace components instead of buying entirely new phones. Fairphone of Europe already offers such a design.
- Apple AI Strategy: Apple's AI technology, known as Apple Intelligence, will begin beta testing in the fall of 2024, the company said during its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). Alas, the official Apple Intelligence announcement did not mention sustainability or energy efficiency opportunities. To play catchup in the generative AI market, Apple plans to partner with OpenAI.
- Elon Musk Objects: The Apple Intelligence plan drew criticism from Elon Musk, who alleges the close Apple-OpenAI integrations could trigger security risks on Apple's hardware. Musk is therefore threatening to ban Apple products within his companies -- which include Tesla, X (formerly Twitter) and SpaceX, among others. Musk, an early OpenAI investor, alleges that the company lost its way by prioritizing revenues over social good. Amid that backdrop, Musk is building an OpenAI rival called xAI.
- iOS 18: The Home app will gain Energy category updates that make it "easier for eligible users to access, understand, and make more informed decisions about their home electricity use," the company said.
- Apple Vision Pro: The mixed reality headset "is designed with 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, and 100 percent recycled tin soldering and gold plating in multiple printed circuit boards. Vision Pro meets Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency, and is free of mercury, brominated flame retardants, PVC, and beryllium. The packaging is 100 percent fiber-based, bringing Apple closer to its goal of eliminating plastics in all packaging by 2025. Today, Apple is carbon neutral for its global corporate operations, and by 2030, plans to be carbon neutral across the entire manufacturing supply chain and life cycle of every product," the company said.
More: Continue to the next page for additional Apple sustainability strategy updates.
