Apple announced the release of its annual Green Bond Impact Report, highlighting investments made by the company with funds raised in its green bond issuance. According to the report, proceeds from Apple’s green bond offerings are being used to fund innovations for carbon neutral materials and clean energy projects, supporting the company’s sustainability targets, including its goal to become carbon neutral across its manufacturing supply chain and product life cycle by 2030.

Since kicking off its green bond program in 2016, Apple has raised $4.7 billion, and has allocated $3 billion of the proceeds to date.

Apple’s most recent issuance was in November 2019, raising €2 billion (approximately $2.2 billion) in its first European green bond offering. To date (as of the end of FY’21 in September 2021), the company has invested $550 million from the 2019 bond, including $220 million in 2021. Proceeds from the bond have funded 50 projects, with over $500 million allocated to sourcing renewable energy, nearly $30 million to low-carbon design, and the remainder in categories including energy efficiency, carbon mitigation and carbon sequestration.

Apple has estimated that projects and initiatives funded by its 2019 green bond will result in the mitigation or offset of nearly 2.9 million metric tons of CO2e, 1.85 GWh of annual renewable energy generation, and 699 MW of newly installed renewable energy generation.

More than 70% of Apple’s carbon footprint is created from the energy used in the manufacture of its products. One of the company’s key focus areas for investment is in programs aimed at enabling suppliers to reduce energy use and transition to renewable energy. Green bond proceeds allocation in 2021 included investments in training and resources to help guide suppliers in their transition to clean power, and policy advocacy efforts in locations including Japan, Vietnam, and South Korea to help build cost-effective renewable energy markets. According to the green bond report, as of October 2021, more than 175 of the company’s manufacturing partners across 24 countries have committed to using 100% renewable energy for Apple products.

One of the initiatives funded by proceeds from Apple’s green bond issuances highlighted report is the sourcing of carbon-free aluminum for use in the company’s products. Apple was involved in the advancement of the development of the carbon-free aluminum through an investment partnership with Alcoa, Rio Tinto, and the governments of Canada and Quebec. Apple announced that it will source the world’s first commercial-purity low-carbon aluminium from ELYSIS, a joint venture between Alcoa and Rio Tinto, and will introduce the material in the iPhone SE.

Lisa Jackson, Apple’s Vice President of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, said:

“Apple is committed to leaving the planet better than we found it, and our Green Bonds are a key tool to drive our environmental efforts forward. Our investments are advancing the breakthrough technologies needed to reduce the carbon footprint of the materials we use, even as we move to using only recyclable and renewable materials across our products to conserve the earth’s finite resources.”

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