Apple sets up $300m clean energy fund in China

Apple and 10 of its suppliers are teaming up to develop clean energy projects in China.

The company has launched what it is calling a ‘first-of-its-kind investment fund’ to help its suppliers gain access to renewable sources.

The $300 million fund will develop an estimated 1 gigawatt of renewable energy projects within China over the next four years – enough to power 1 million households.

Lisa Jackson, one of Apple’s policy chiefs, and a former head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, commented: “At Apple, we are proud to join with companies that are stepping up to address the climate challenge.”

“We’re thrilled so many of our suppliers are participating in the fund and hope this model can be replicated globally to help businesses of all sizes make a significant positive impact on our planet.”

The list of suppliers contributing to the new fund include major companies taken from the manufacturing, electronics, and chemical sectors, among others. These include Solvay, Corning Incorporated, Pegatron, and Wistron.

The fund forms part of a commitment Apple made in 2015 to help its suppliers source clean energy within the manufacturing process. The company has at least 200 global suppliers which provide the nuts and bolts of Apple’s product range, from watches to iPads. So far, 23 suppliers have signed up to the programme.

Apple has led by example in this area and earlier this year managed to hit 100 percent renewable energy across its data centres, offices and retail stores. At the time, CEO Tim Cook said the company was “committed to leaving the world better than we found it”.

“We’re going to keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible with the materials in our products, the way we recycle them, our facilities and our work with suppliers to establish new creative and forward-looking sources of renewable energy because we know the future depends on it.”

 

Photo Credit: Apple