Apple has taken significant steps in recent years to reduce environmental and ethical concerns related to cobalt sourcing. Cobalt is a common element in electronic device batteries, but its mining often involves risky and ethical issues. Here’s how Apple is addressing these environmental concerns…
Apple increases use of recycled cobalt in battery content
Apple announced that it sourced 56% of the cobalt used in its battery content from recycled sources in the past fiscal year, more than doubling its previous rate of 27%. The company aims to use only recycled cobalt in its battery content by the 2025 fiscal year.
This increase indicates Apple’s commitment to sustainability. Apple uses robots to recycle old iPhones, retrieving materials for reprocessing. These robots can recover almost 100% of the cobalt from batteries.
Additionally, Apple increased its lithium recycling rate to 24%. The company aims to reduce its carbon footprint by expanding its environmentally friendly practices. Apple plans to achieve carbon neutrality across its supply chain by 2030.
The company reported a 55% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared to 2015. The ultimate goal is to reduce emissions by 75% by 2030 and offset or capture the remaining amount to reach zero emissions.
In addition to using recycled cobalt in battery content, Apple aims to eliminate plastic from its packaging by the 2025 fiscal year. Last year, only 3% of Apple’s packaging materials contained plastic.
By reducing plastic usage, Apple is working to minimize its environmental impact. With these sustainability efforts, Apple seeks to set a green role model in the technology industry.
Apple’s recycling and sustainability strategies could inspire significant transformation in the technology industry. What do you think about this approach? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments section below.
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