Apple continues to walk the talk. As part of its commitment to address climate change and increase the use of renewable energy, within its supply chain, the tech giant announced a first-of-its-kind investment fund in China.
The fund will help connect suppliers with renewable energy sources and will start with 10 initial suppliers. Apple said it will jointly invest nearly USD300 million over the next four years into the China Clean Energy Fund.
The fund will invest in and develop clean energy projects totalling more than one gigawatt of renewable energy in China. That’s equivalent to powering nearly one million homes.
China is the world’s leading country in electricity production from renewable energy resources, with the United States in second place. The world’s most populous country has the world’s largest installed capacity of hydro, dollar and wind power.
In 2017, its renewable resources provided 26.4% of its electricity generation, with the remainder provided by coal power plants.
Transitioning to clean, renewable energy can be complex. This may be more apparent for smaller companies that may not have access to viable clean sources.
Hence, this is where the China Clean Energy Fund comes into action.
Because of its size and scale, the fund can give participants the advantage of greater purchasing power and the more diverse selection of clean energy solutions.
The fund will be managed through a third party – DWS Group – a specialist in sustainable investments. The group is said to also invest in the fund.
The initial suppliers participating in the China Clean Energy Fund are:
- Catcher Technology
- Compal Electronics
- Corning Incorporated
- Golden Arrow
- Jabil
- Luxshare-ICT
- Pegatron
- Solvay
- Sunway Communication
- Wistron
Earlier in the year, Apple announced that its global facilities are powered by 100 percent clean energy, and the launch of its Supplier Clean Energy Program in 2015.
Since the program debut, 23 manufacturing partners, operating across 10 countries have committed to powering all of their Apple production with 100 percent clean energy.
By 2020, Apple and its supplies will generate more than 4 gigawatts of new clean energy, representing one-third of Apple’s current manufacturing electricity footprint.
That aside, Apple is also working with its suppliers to find new ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The company reached a breakthrough recently with aluminium suppliers Alcoa Corporation and Rio Tinto Aluminium on a new technology that eliminates direct greenhouse gas emissions from the traditional smelting process.
For more on how Apple is making the world greener, visit apple.com/my/environment. You can also read the 2018 Progress Report.
Source: Apple
