Over the past couple of years, Apple has ramped up its environmental efforts and made it clear that it wants to reduce its impact.
Earlier in the year, the organization made a pledge to combine technology and investments to become a carbon-neutral company by 2030, and Microsoft and Facebook followed in Apple’s footsteps confirming their intentions, too. Google also wanted to reduce its impact on the environment confirming in early September that it has been carbon neutral since 2007, and has now “compensated for all of the carbon it has ever created,” setting a new precedent for companies putting the planet above profit margins.
One of Apple’s biggest challenges in becoming carbon neutral and reducing its impact on the environment is in hardware. Products like AirPods are notoriously bad, as most of the essential elements are soldered onto the device, resulting in low repairability and recycling scores. However, the new iPad Air now uses 100 percent recycled aluminum enclosure and 100 percent recycled tin for the solder on its main logic board, whilst the new speakers in the iPad Air use magnets with 100 percent recycled rare earth elements.
Apple also confirmed that the new iPad Air is free of harmful substances, is highly energy-efficient, and uses wood fiber packaging that’s recycled or comes from responsibly managed forests. During its September Event, the company also announced the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, and for the first time, these products won’t come with an AC adapter in the box. Apple is likely to remove adapters and earphones from its iPhone 12 range entirely in October, although the new iPad Air will continue to ship with a power adapter. The Air model includes a new 20W USB-C power adapter which is compatible with the new USB-C port that replaces the Lightning port, and so it could be that Apple will include an adapter in the short-term to help people transition from Lightning.
Do you think Apple should do more to protect the environment? Let us know.Why this year’s iPads are Apple’s most environmentally-friendly yet
