Apple unveils first carbon-neutral products

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Apple on Tuesday announced its first-ever carbon-neutral products in the new Apple Watch Series 9 lineup, a milestone marking a major step in the company's journey toward its Apple 2030 goal to make every product carbon neutral by the end of the decade, including the entire global supply chain and the lifetime use of every device Apple makes.

As part of Apple 2030 and the company's broader environmental efforts, Apple has also ended the use of leather across all of its product lines, announced its first entirely fiber-based packaging for the new Apple Watch lineup, and continued to expand the use of recycled materials in iPhone.

"At Apple, we have a longstanding and proven commitment to leading the fight against climate change. Our focus on renewable energy and low-carbon design has already driven industry-leading emissions reductions, and we're not slowing down," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. "We've achieved an important milestone in making the world's most popular watch carbon neutral - and we will keep innovating to meet the urgency of the moment."

Apple said the company has adopted a clear and rigorous approach to product decarbonization that prioritizes reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the three biggest sources across the product life cycle: electricity, materials, and transportation.

Each carbon-neutral Apple Watch model meets the following strict criteria: 100 percent clean electricity for manufacturing and product use, 30 percent recycled or renewable material by weight, and 50 percent of shipping without the use of air transportation. These combined efforts result in at least a 75 percent reduction in product emissions for each model, the company said.

Apple will use high-quality carbon credits to address the small amount of remaining emissions, resulting in a carbon-neutral product footprint, it added.