Commercial, Industrial, Sourcing Renewables - August 17, 2016
Apple marks 1st big step in greening supply chain
One of Apple Inc.'s major suppliers has agreed to power all of its Apple-related operations with 100% renewable energy, the California tech company announced Aug. 17.
The commitment from Chinese glass manufacturer Lens Technology comes amid Apple's very public efforts to work within its supply chain to growth and accelerate the use of renewable energy sources. In a news release, Apple praised Lens Technology, which it said is the first supplier to make a clean energy commitment for all of its Apple production.
"This unprecedented commitment, combined with zero waste compliance from all final assembly sites, furthers Apple's efforts to help manufacturers lower their carbon footprint and reduce waste in China, helping to advance China's transition to a new green economy," Apple said.
Lens Technology has committed to power all of its glass production for Apple with 100% renewable energy by the end of 2018, and will meet its goal through a power purchase agreement with local wind projects, according to the release. Lens' manufacturing with Apple currently includes two facilities in Changsha, Hunan province.
"We want to show the world that you can manufacture responsibly and we’re working alongside our suppliers to help them lower their environmental impact in China,” Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives said in a statement. "We congratulate Lens for their bold step, and hope by sharing the lessons we’ve learned in our transition to renewable energy, our suppliers will continue to access clean power projects, moving China closer to its green manufacturing goals."
Apple, through its previously announced supply chain clean energy program, says it will partner with suppliers in China to install more than 2 GW of new clean energy in the coming years, avoiding over 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution in the country between now and 2020. Apple said Foxconn has committed to construct 400 MW of solar, starting in Henan province, by 2018, and that the manufacturer is now well on its way to constructing the first 80 MW of that commitment.
Apple also announced that all 14 of its final assembly sites in China are now compliant with UL LLC's "Zero Waste to Landfill validation."
Apple in Apple is one of 69 global corporations to-date that have committed to powering 100% of its operations with renewable energy through the RE100 initiative. In the U.S., that pledge has resulted in Apple and others taking a much more active role in corporate energy management and the broader energy industry: On Aug. 4, Apple was granted permission from FERC to sell excess generation capacity — primarily from its renewable energy investments —into the wholesale market at market rates.
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