Environmental protection is a priority for the conservation of precious natural resources and the continued health of our planet. Apple recognizes its responsibility as a global citizen and is continually striving to reduce the environmental impact of the work we do and the products we create.

Apple’s Carbon Footprint

Environmental considerations are an integral part of Apple’s business practices. Over 95 percent of Apple’s carbon footprint comes from the products we make. That’s why from the earliest stages of product design through manufacturing to customer use and recycling, we take care to keep our activities and our products environmentally sound. Product Environmental Reports have been created to document the progress we’ve made to minimize the carbon emissions of each product.

Four areas of particular attention are product and packaging design, materials, energy efficiency, and recycling. Each aspect of the design cycle provides significant challenges, yet our efforts in these areas have resulted in some impressive results.

Product design

It all begins here. Reducing the environmental impact of our products starts with the product design phase. Design dictates the quantity of raw materials as well as the type and recyclability of materials used. It also determines how much energy is consumed during manufacturing and product use. For example, the amazingly slim 20-inch iMac is made from highly recyclable glass and aluminum and it is so energy efficient it consumes about the same amount of power as a standard light bulb when on.

Materials

Apple helps to safeguard the environment — as well as consumers’ safety — by restricting the use of environmentally harmful compounds in our materials and manufacturing processes. In addition to the substances that have already been restricted or eliminated, Apple is removing elemental forms of bromine and chlorine from our products, not just polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). The new MacBook family also uses mercury-free light-emitting diode (LED) displays, with arsenic-free display glass.

Energy efficiency

A devices greatest contribution to greenhouse gas emissions comes from its consumptions of energy over time. Apple has made great strides in recent years to optimize the energy efficiency of our hardware and created tools, such as the Energy Saver feature in Mac OS X, that allow consumers to manage the power consumption of their computers. Since 2001, Apple desktop computers, portable computers, and displays have earned the ENERGY STAR® rating.

Recycling

Apple’s holistic, lifecycle approach to recycling includes using highly recyclable materials in products in addition to providing extensive take-back programs that enable consumers and businesses to safely dispose of used Apple equipment. Since our first take-back initiative began in Germany in 1994, we have instituted recycling programs in 95 percent of the countries where our products are sold - diverting over 53 million pounds of electronic equipment from landfills worldwide.