Environmental protection is a priority for the conservation of precious natural resources and the continued health of our planet. Apple recognizes its responsibility as a global citizen and is continually striving to reduce the environmental impact of the work we do and the products we create.
Apple and the Global Environment
Apple takes pride in its history of innovation and thoughtful design. But technological leadership goes beyond what’s in the box. How we impact the environment is also important to us, and environmental considerations are an integral part of Apple’s business practices. From the earliest stages of product design through manufacturing, use, and recycling, we take care to keep our activities and our products environmentally sound.
Four areas of particular attention are product and packaging design, responsible manufacturing, energy efficiency, and recycling. Each aspect of the design cycle provides significant challenges, yet our efforts in these areas have resulted in some impressive results.
Product design
It all begins here. Reducing the environmental impact of our products starts with the product design phase. Design dictates the quantity of raw materials, type and recylability of materials, energy consumption required for manufacturing and use, and the ease of recycling. For example, our decision to eliminate Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) displays makes our product line much more environmentally friendly. Our flat-panel displays eliminate more than two pounds of lead, consume up to 80% less energy in sleep mode, and weigh half as much as their CRT counterparts.
Apple continually refines its product design to maximize efficiency while minimizing waste, following the requirements of programs such as ENERGY STAR® as well as our own high standards.
Responsible Manufacturing
Apple plans to completely eliminate the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in its products, and arsenic in the glass of flat-panel displays by the end of 2008. Apple helps to safeguard the environment — as well as consumers’ safety — by restricting the use of environmentally harmful compounds in our materials and manufacturing processes. For example, our restricted substances program limits the use of heavy metals and ozone depleting substances in our products and manufacturing processes.
Energy efficiency
A device’s greatest environmental impact is often its energy consumption over time. Apple has made great strides in recent years to optimize the energy efficiency of our hardware and created tools, such as the Energy Saver feature in Mac OS X, that allow consumers to manage the power consumption of their computers. Since 2001, all Apple desktop computers, portable computers, and displays have earned the ENERGY STAR® rating.
Recycling
Apple’s holistic approach to recycling — encompassing a product’s entire lifecycle — includes extensive take-back programs that enable consumers and businesses to dispose of used Apple equipment in an environmentally sound manner. Since our first take-back initiative began in Germany in 1994, we have launched programs in the United States, Canada, Japan, and throughout Europe, diverting over 34 million pounds of electronic equipment from landfills worldwide.
Latest in Apple and the Environment
A Greener Apple 2008
Apple is on track to be the first in the industry to eliminate toxic chemicals from its products. In “A Greener Apple 2008” Steve Jobs provides an update on Apple’s program to eliminate polyvinyl chloride (PVC), brominated flame retardants (BFRs), arsenic in display glass and mercury. Steve Jobs also talks about Apple’s policy on climate change, steps taken to improve product energy-efficiency as well as overall recycling performance during 2007.
Supplier Responsibility
Apple is committed to ensure that working conditions in our supply chain are safe, workers are treated with respect and dignity, and manufacturing processes are environmentally responsible. View the Supplier Code of Conduct as well as our supplier audit reports at Supplier Responsibility.
FAQs
Please see our Frequently Asked Questions section for additional information regarding Apple’s environmental policies and activities.
Supporting Information
Supporting Information provides a number of tools and resources to help you compute the energy consumption of your product, look at an environmental report for your product, as well as retrieve environmental performance data for our operations worldwide.
Recent achievements
A history of sound practice
At Apple, our commitment to the environment is second nature. Here are just a few of our recent achievements:
- MacBook Air embodies Apple’s continuing environmental progress with its aluminium enclosure, a material highly-desired by recyclers; Apple’s first mercury-free LCD display with arsenic-free glass; and brominated flame retardant-free material for the majority of circuit boards as well as PVC-free internal cables. In addition, MacBook Air consumes the least amount of power of any Mac, and its retail box, made primarily from 100% post-consumer recycled material, is 56% smaller by volume than previous MacBook packaging.
- Apple was the first computer manufacturer to entirely replace CRT displays with LCDs. Since 2001 Apple’s stand-alone displays have consisted only of material-efficient LCDs.
- Between the first generation and current generation iMac, sleep-mode energy usage has decreased 92% thanks to improvements in CPU power management and increased hardware efficiency.
- The third generation iPod nano packaging is 35% lighter and uses 54% less volume than the first generation iPod nano.
- Apple products are compliant with the European Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, also known as the RoHS directive. Examples of materials restricted by RoHS include lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and PBB and PBDE flame retardants. As a result of our proactive approach to hazardous substances, Apple met many of the RoHS restrictions long before the July 2006 deadline.
Year after year, Apple has set and met important goals to phase out environmentally relevant substances, create recycling programs worldwide and improve energy efficiency. Here are some of the most important milestones in our quest for environmental responsibility:
- 1990
- Apple’s environmental policy released and implemented.
- 1991
- Phase-out of lead in batteries in advance of the 1996 European battery directive.
- 1992
- Phase-out of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in Apple manufacturing, as stipulated in the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer.
- 1992
- Founding member of the US EPA ENERGY STAR® program, developed to identify and promote energy efficient computers and monitors.
- 1994
- Phase-out of NiCad batteries.
- 1994
- First voluntary Apple product take-back program initiated in Germany (gradual expansion to other regions).
- 1995
- PVC in packaging materials phased out.
- 1996
- First Apple manufacturing site (Sacramento, CA) ISO 14001 certified.
- 1997
- First Apple products tested for conformity to TCO (Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees) standards.
- 1999
- Introduction of the Apple Product Environmental Specification (APES) files.
- 1999
- Lead and cadmium in cables restricted.
- 2000
- All Apple manufacturing sites ISO 14001 certified worldwide, signifying that Apple has a structured environmental management system (EMS) in place to manage the environmental impact of our operations.
- 2001
- All Apple computers and displays meet applicable ENERGY STAR® requirements. They continue to do so.
- 2001
- Started voluntary phase-out of tetrabisphenol A (TBBA) in all plastic enclosure parts >25 grams.
- 2002
- Product take-back solutions implemented in the US and Japan.
- 2002
- Roll-out of Apple’s global Regulated Substances Specification.
- 2002
- Signatory of European Union Code of Conduct on Power Supplies, created to encourage manufacturers to design power supplies that minimize energy consumption in off mode.
- 2002
- Founding member of US Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), which introduced energy efficiency requirements for the off mode of computer products.
- 2003
- Implementation of supplier survey initiative on substance use.
- 2004
- Investigation into halogen-free cable enclosures and printed circuit boards initiated.
- 2004
- Phase-out of substances restricted by the European Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) initiated.
- 2005
- Implementation of the Apple Supplier Code of Conduct, which governs environmental, health and safety, and human rights issues in Apple’s supply chain.
- 2006
- All Apple products worldwide are compliant with the European Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in electronics, also known as the RoHS Directive.
- 2007
- First products shipped with bromine-free printed circuit board laminates.
- 2007
- First MacBook Pro with mercury-free LED backlit display.
- 2008
- First MacBook with arsenic-free LCD display glass.