On Tuesday, Apple unveiled an ambitious plan to make its entire business carbon neutral by 2030. Apple’s “corporate emissions” are already carbon neutral, but the impact of its offices and datacenters are small compared to all the products it makes and sells. This new goal encompasses the entire business, including the manufacturing and sale of all of its products, the supply chain for them, and even product end-of-life.
Given all the global companies involved in the supply of parts for Apple’s products, it’s a very ambition goal to achieve in just a decade. However, it’s worth noting that carbon neutral is not the same thing as zero carbon. Carbon may be produced somewhere in Apple’s business, as long as the company makes up for it elsewhere. For example, if the manufacturing of the displays used in MacBooks produced 100 tons of carbon per year, but Apple sends enough excess solar power to the grid to eliminate 100 tons of carbon in energy production, that would be considered carbon neutral.
