Apple announced earlier this year that its global facilities are powered by 100 percent renewable energy. However, its climate action plan did not stop there. This month, Apple announced that it launches a new first-of-its-kind clean energy investment fund in China. Its goal is to connect suppliers with renewable energy sources. They will invest $300 million over the next four years in the China Clean Energy Fund.
The fund seeks to develop more than 1 gigawatt of renewable energy (it can power nearly 1 million homes) in China.
”At Apple, we are proud to join companies that are stepping up to address the climate challenge,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. “We’re thrilled so many of our suppliers are participating in the fund and hope this model can be replicated globally to help businesses of all sizes make a significant positive impact on our planet.”
Apple understands that it may be hard for smaller companies to transition to clean energy. One of the reasons for that is the fact that they may not have access to viable clean energy sources. Therefore, the China Clean Energy Fund will provide its participants the advantage of greater purchasing power and the ability to attain more attractive renewable energy solutions.
The China Clean Energy Fund will be managed by DWS Group, which specializes in sustainable investments and will also invest in the fund. The initial participating suppliers include Catcher Technology, Compal Electronics, Corning Incorporated, Golden Arrow, Jabil, Luxshare-ICT, Pegatron, Solvay, Sunway Communication and Wistron.
Additionally, Apple is working on finding new ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It recently announced its breakthrough with aluminum suppliers Alcoa Corporation and Rio Tinto Aluminum on a new technology that eliminates direct greenhouse gas emissions from the traditional smelting process(a key step in aluminum production). Using this technology in Apple’s manufacturing processes will make the company even more eco-friendly.
