Tomas Chlebek Improving relations towards the environment has been one of Apple's most visible initiatives in recent months. So far, the last activity related to this was the establishment of cooperation with The Conversation Fund and the purchase of 146 square kilometers of forest in the US and something similar has now been announced in China.
To be more precise acts on cooperation with the World Fund for Nature Conservation in a multi-year program that aims to protect up to approximately 4 square kilometers of forests used for the production of paper and wood products. This means that timber will be harvested in the given forests to such an extent and in such a way that their ability to thrive is not impaired.
With these steps, Apple wants to make all its activities around the world solely dependent on renewable resources. Currently, all of its data centers and most of its product development and sales activities are powered by renewable energy. Now the company wants to focus on production. Most of it takes place in China, which is where Apple starts. “[…] we are ready to start leading the way to reduce carbon emissions from manufacturing,” said Tim Cook.
"This won't happen overnight — in fact, it will take years — but it's important work that needs to be done, and Apple is uniquely positioned to take the initiative toward this ambitious goal," the Apple executive added.
Three weeks ago, Apple announced its first major solar power project in China. In cooperation with Leshan Electric Power, Sichuan Development Holding, Tianjin Tsinlien Investment Holding, Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor and SunPower Corporation, it will build two 20-megawatt solar farms here, which will together generate up to 80 kWh of energy per year, which is the equivalent of 61 Chinese households. That's more than Apple needs to power all of its office buildings and stores here.
At the same time, the design of the power plants took into account their direct impact on the environment and the protection of grassy areas, which are needed for yak grazing, on which the local economy depends.
An interesting fact is that Tim Cook announced China's cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund on Weibo, where he therefore set up an account. In the first post, he wrote: "I'm happy to be back in Beijing to announce innovative new environmental programs." Weibo is China's equivalent of Twitter and is one of the most popular social networks there. Tim Cook gained more than 216 thousand followers here in the first day alone. He has them on "American" Twitter for comparison almost 1,2 million.
It's great when a huge corporation like Apple does this. Unfortunately, I fear that before others will follow, if ever. It will take decades.
This is a very suspicious message, because from my position I can confirm that we currently make all the packaging for Apple products here at the Enso Store. It involves both the harvesting of wood, its processing and the production of finished boxes. Considering that we are the largest and number one on the market, we will get the price to the lowest possible limit, other clients include Samsung and almost everyone who wraps their mass-market products in paper. So for a) Apple doesn't make any packaging itself for b) the message will probably be translated badly, or it is disinformation.