Apple has long talked of carbon neutrality like the other large tech firms. But now it has made a commitment that its entire supply chain will be carbon neutral by 2030. That means that each Apple product sold after that date will have a 'net zero' impact.

The company has been carbon neutral internally for a couple of years now, but it has been working to push its suppliers to be greener too over the last few years.  

Indeed, in a Fast Company article last year, Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environmental initiatives, said that "if you look at our corporate carbon footprint, over 70% is in the supply chain. And, of course, those aren’t facilities that we own or operate." So far the company has commitments from over 70 suppliers to use 100 percent renewable energy during the production of Apple gear. 

Apple says its entire supply chain will be carbon neutral by 2030 photo 2

Apple says it plans to also reduce emissions by 75 percent by 2030 while developing carbon removal solutions for the remaining 25 percent of its comprehensive footprint. Currently, over 80 percent of the renewable energy that Apple uses comes from Apple-created projects including wind and solar farms.

Apple says it decreased its carbon footprint by 4.3 million metric tons in 2019, while it has reduced the average energy needed for usage of its products by 73 percent over the last decade. 

Earlier this year, Microsoft went one step further and said it would be carbon negative by 2030, wiping out its historical carbon as well as its ongoing impact. 

Apple has introduced a 10 year plan detailing the steps it plans to take to reach its goal.