Our goal is a closed-loop supply chain.
Traditional supply chains are linear. Materials are mined, manufactured as products, and often end up in landfills after use. Then the process starts over and more materials are extracted from the earth for new products. We believe our goal should be a closed-loop supply chain, where products are built using only renewable resources or recycled material. We already have programs in place to ensure that the finite materials we use in our products are sourced responsibly through strict standards and programs that drive positive change. We’re also challenging ourselves to one day end our reliance on mining altogether. To start, we’re encouraging more customers to recycle their old devices through Apple Renew. And we’re piloting innovative new recycling techniques, like our line of disassembly robots, so we can put reclaimed materials to better use in new products. It’s an ambitious goal that will require many years of collaboration across multiple Apple teams, our suppliers, and specialty recyclers — but our work is already under way.
In addition, we’re committed to making sure all the waste created by our supply chain is reused, recycled, composted, or, when necessary, converted into energy. Seventeen of our 18 final assembly sites have received UL’s Zero Waste to Landfill validation, diverting more than 240,000 metric tons of waste from landfills since January 2015. And we’ve recently expanded this initiative to 25 more suppliers.
Using more sources of sustainable paper and less plastic in our packaging.
We’re constantly looking for ways to make our packaging smaller, creating technologies that use paper more efficiently, and using recycled paper whenever we can. In fact, in fiscal year 2016, more than 60 percent of the paper used in our packaging was made of recycled wood fiber. We’re also designing our packaging to use fewer plastics. For example, the accessory tray in the iPhone 7 box is made from a mix of sustainably harvested bamboo fiber and bagasse, a waste by-product of sugarcane manufacturing.
A durable device is a greener device.
When products can be used longer, fewer resources need to be extracted from the earth to make new ones. So we assess all our products in our Reliability Testing Lab, using rigorous testing methods that simulate our customers’ real-world experiences with their devices. For example, we analyze how devices stand up to extreme heat and cold, exposure to water and everyday chemicals, and scratching tests from materials like steel wool and denim. In addition to industry-standard measures, we also devise our own tests and even build custom testing machinery. We design these tests based on our studies of user behavior and by analyzing returned products to fully understand any problems.
In the event that something does break, we have programs like AppleCare and Apple-certified repair services to help our customers use their devices longer. We also release regular free software updates that keep our products current and extend their lives as long as possible. And we design those software updates to be compatible with older generations of products. macOS Sierra, for example, is compatible with Mac models dating back to late 2009. And when customers decide to upgrade to new devices, the old ones often have new lives with friends or family, or in the refurbished market through programs like Apple Renew.