Apple Sustainability News, Milestones, Partnerships and Net Zero Timeline

Here are more updates...

May 2024: Business Updates

• New Tablet: The new Apple iPad Pro leverages 100% recycled aluminum in the enclosure, 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, and 100 percent recycled gold plating and tin soldering in multiple printed circuit boards. Also, the packaging is 100% fiber-based. The company is striving to remove plastic from all packaging by 2025.
• Apple AI Chips: Apple is developing AI-focused chips for its own data centers, The Wall Street Journal reported. The project -- known as Apple Chips in Data Center (ACDC) -- has been under development for several years, but it's unclear if Apple will ever unveil the resulting chips. We're also curious to know if the Apple ACDC chips will reduce power consumption compared to existing chips.

April 2024: Business Updates

• Net Zero Strategy Update: The company outlined several renewable energy and water resilience milestones as part of its Apple 2030 carbon neutral strategy.
• M4 Processors With AI Capabilities: Apple is preparing to launch Mac products that have M4 chips with AI processing capabilities, Bloomberg reported. We'll be watching to see how much power the AI capabilities potentially require.
• iPhone Right to Repair: Apple has opened its iPhone repair process to include used components, TechCrunch reported. Starting sometime in the second half of 2024, customers and independent repair shops will be able to fix the smartphone using compatible components, the report said.
• Apple Layoffs Tied to EV Project Cancellation?: Apple layoffs will impact more than 600 employees in California, marking the company's first big wave of post-pandemic job cuts amid a broader wave of tech industry consolidation, The Associated Press reported. Some sources speculate that the job cuts involve Apple's decision to cancel an electric vehicle (EV) car project.

March 2024: Business Updates

Multiple updates...

• AI Perspectives: CEO Tim Cook said AI is an essential tool for helping businesses reduce their carbon footprint, Bloomberg reported, as he joined a climate change dialog at the China Development Forum. Still, critics suggest that AI applications will strain traditional energy grids.
• Apple Restore Fund: Apple manufacturing partners Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Murata Manufacturing as new investors in the Restore Fund. The fund has raised $280 million for nature-based carbon removal projects since its inception in 2021.

February 2024: Business Updates

Multiple updates...

• Right to Repair - MacBook Pros and iMacs: Apple has expanded its Self Service Repair for MacBook Pro and iMac models powered by M3, the company said.
• Apple Car Canceled: Apple has canceled work on its electric car a decade after the iPhone maker kicked off the project, Reuters reported.
• Apple Vision Pro: More than 600 new applications have been built for the Apple Vision Pro, the technology giant said. Still, some big name content providers -- including Netflix and YouTube -- don't plan to create apps optimized for the Vision Pro, The Verge notes.

January 2024: Multiple Business Updates

Multiple updates...

• Electric Vehicles (EVs) - Apple Car: After previously envisioning a truly driverless car, Apple is now working on an EV (electric vehicle) with more limited features, Bloomberg reported. The car is now expected to arrive in 2028, the report said.
• Immersive and Virtual Reality Headsets: How sustainable is the Apple Vision Pro headset? Impakter took a look at that very question...
• Board of Directors: Former U.S. vice president and climate activist Al Gore is exiting Apple's board because he has reached the board's mandatory retirement age of 75.

December 2024: Apple Sustainability Strategy and Timeline

Multiple updates...

• Executive Departs: iPhone and Apple Watch design chief Tang Tan will leave the company in February 2024 to work on an AI hardware project with Jony Ive and Sam Altman, Bloomberg reported.
• Right to Repair: Apple has extended Self Service Repair to the iPhone 15 lineup and Mac models powered by the M2 lineup. Moreover, Self Service Repair is now available in 24 additional European countries, including Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Portugal, and Switzerland. With this latest expansion, Self Service Repair now supports 35 company products in 33 countries and 24 languages.
• Diagnostics Tool: Apple Diagnostics for Self Service Repair is now available in the U.S., with European support planned for 2024. Intended for users with the knowledge and expertise to repair Apple devices, Apple Diagnostics troubleshooting sessions "will give customers the same ability as Apple Authorized Service Providers and Independent Repair Providers to test devices for optimal part functionality and performance, as well as identify which parts may need repair," the company said.

November 2023: Sustainability Strategy and Timeline

• Apple does not charge more to account for its carbon reduction efforts on its widely-used consumer technology products, Lisa Jackson said at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York, Reuters reported.

More: Continue to the next page for additional Apple sustainability strategy updates.