The United Nations has awarded 15 “ground-breaking” projects around the world with a 2019 Global Climate Action Award, and Apple is one of the recipients.
UN
The awards recognize ground-breaking projects that are “some of the world’s best and brightest solutions to climate change.” Apple joins other global technology companies alongside more local projects on the list of awardees.
“Announced amongst the backdrop of nations signalling their renewed determination to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement,” said Niclas Svenningsen, Manager of the UN Climate Change Global Climate Action Program in a statement. “These awards shine a light on 15 incredible examples of scalable climate action around the world.”
The UN says Apple was chosen for its emissions reduction, saying that the company is “on a mission to make its products without taking from the Earth.”
The UN notes that Apple, over the course of the last three years alone, has reduced its carbon footprint by 35 percent. Across all of the company’s major product lines, Apple has decreased average energy use by 70%. In addition to that, Apple partnered with Conservation International to not only protect, but also restore 11,000 hectares of mangrove forest in Colombia.
“At Apple, we take our responsibility seriously to leave the world better than we found it,” said Lisa Jackson, vice president, environment, policy and social initiatives. “By running 100% of our operations on renewable energy and driving our entire global supply chain to do the same, we’ll bring more than 6 gigawatts of clean power online next year.”
“From restoring mangrove forests in Colombia to launching a new Clean Energy Fund in China,” she continued, “we know that we must keep challenging ourselves to innovate and do more to take on the climate crisis globally.”
“Thank you to the United Nations for recognizing our commitment to clean energy and reducing the carbon footprint of our products,” concluded Jackson. “We promise to keep leading the charge for bold climate action.”
