Apple achieves water replenishment goal for India operations in 2023

iPhone maker Apple has met its replenishment target for freshwater withdrawals for corporate operations in India in 2023, the company said in its environmental progress report released on Wednesday.

Globally, Apple has set a goal to replenish 100 per cent of corporate freshwater withdrawals in high-stress locations by 2030.

As part of the project, the company said that it provided 40 million gallons of drinking water in partnership with the Uptime Catalyst Facility in India over the past two years.

"This work helped us meet our 100 per cent water replenishment target for our corporate operations in India in 2023," the report said.

Apple said that it continued partnership with Frank Water in India last year, which works alongside local partners in India to support access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

"In 2024, the grant continued to support the expansion of the organization's programming from focusing on Bengaluru to include Chennai. This involved implementing the Decision Support System, through Water Dialogues in partnership with Indian industry, and water stewardship practices designed with our support, in a new critical region of India," the report said.

Talking about sustainability goals, the report said that Apple has surpassed a 60 per cent reduction in its global greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2015 levels, as part of its Apple 2030 goal to become carbon neutral across its entire footprint in the next five years.

"Today, we're using more clean energy and recycled materials to make our products than ever before, we're preserving water and preventing waste around the world, and we're investing big in nature. As we get closer to 2030, the work gets even harder and we're meeting the challenge with innovation, collaboration, and urgency," Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, said.

According to the report, there are now 17.8 gigawatts of renewable electricity online in Apple's global supply chain due to the company's collaboration with its suppliers to transition to 100 per cent renewable energy for their Apple production by 2030..

"The renewable energy procured by Apple suppliers avoided 21.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2024, an over 17 per cent increase from the previous year," the report said.

In India, Apple is supporting a village-based solar project that provides schools and medical clinics with access to clean, renewable solar energy in regions where conventional power infrastructure is limited or nonexistent, the report said.

In addition to transitioning suppliers to clean energy, the report said that Apple is working across its supply chain to reduce the direct climate impact of industrial processes, including the manufacturing of semiconductors and flat-panel displays, both of which, as per the company claims, emit highly potent fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-GHGs).