Apple's Earth Day Leadership in 2017

Leading corporations are helping to show the way forward this Earth Day and no company has come further in recent years than Apple. 

They were slow off the mark but since Tim Cook took over as CEO in 2011 and hired former EPA administrator Lisa Jackson in 2013 Apple has made amazing progress. Jackson is Apple's VP of environment, policy, and social initiatives. In the last four years Apple has significantly improved their environmental sustainability performance while ameliorating working conditions and transparency.

In 2017 Apple led the Greenpeace Tech Company Rankings and strengthened its competitive advantage by showing leadership in recycling, clean energy, emissions reduction, waste management and water stewardship.

Apple Leads Greenpeace Tech Company Rankings

For the third year in a row Apple is at the top of Greenpeace's environmental rankings for tech companies in 2017.  Apple led platform operators with a score of 83 percent on Greenpeace’s Clean Energy Index. Facebook came in second with a score of  and Google 67 percent and Google came in third with 56 percent.

Apple's final grade was an A for energy transparency, renewable energy commitment, energy efficiency and mitigation, and renewable procurement. The company received a B for advocacy. Google got all A's except for a B in the transparency category, however as noted above they did not fare well in the clean energy component.

Apple's Apps for Earth Initiative Raised Awareness and Funds for WWF

Apps are big business and a partnership between Apple and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) funneled some of these revenues to ecological causes.  Given the number of apps and the volume of demand  using apps to generate revenues for the environment is a boon. As of June 2016 there are approximately 2.2 million apps available and 2 million in the Apple App Store. In 2015, global mobile app revenues amounted to $41.1 billion. In 2020, consumers are projected to spend over $101 billion on mobile apps via app stores.

Carbon Capture and Storage is Essential Post Paris

Interest in carbon capture and storage (CCS) has intensified in the wake of the Paris Climate Agreement. CCS refers to a suite of technologies that pull CO2 from a smokestack before it escapes into the air. It is then sequestered in some fashion, most commonly by burying it deep underground. CCS is a much needed technology, if for no other reason than the fact that fossil fuels are likely to be with us for years to come.

There have been a number of notable achievements in the area of CCS in recent years. According to Victor Der, executive advisor and acting general manager – the Americas, Global CCS Institute:

Carbon Air Capture and Storage (Videos)

We need technologies that draw carbon dioxide from the air and either re-use or store it. While we must curtail our carbon emissions we must also find ways to reduce existing levels of atmospheric carbon. Climate change is caused by the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, especially carbon. Prior to the dawn of the industrial revolution atmospheric carbon levels were below 300 ppm, they are currently above 400 ppm and climbing.

Extracting Value from Recycling - Apple's e-waste Management (Video)

Apple has mined a small fortune from its own waste in both dollars and social capital. While Apple has only recently become a sustainability leader, they have been focused on recycling for many years dating back to the time when Steve Jobs was still at the helm. The problem of waste is increasingly serious but Apple is ahead of the curve and leading the way forward.

The volume of waste keeps increasing while many landfills are rapidly nearing capacity. Smart businesses need to follow Apple's lead as we anticipate a more stringent regulatory regimes in the form of Extended Provider Responsibility regulations.

Apple's Growth Streak Has Ended but its Sustainability Leadership is Still Going Strong

Apple's growth streak may have come to an end but as a mature company its sustainability leadership is going stronger than ever. In fact Apple is poised to double down on sustainability. Every product has a life cycle and Apple's products are no different. Smartphones may have reached market saturation as the global smartphone market has shrunk for the first time. Despite the dropping demand for its premiere product line,  this corporate giant will continue to be a powerful sustainability leader for years to come.

Apple's Renewable Energy Investments in China

On October 21, 2015 Apple announced that it is ramping up its renewable energy investments in China. The company is working with its Chinese suppliers to produce 2.2 gigawatts of solar power and other renewable energy. This move will decrease Apple's carbon footprint by an estimated 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas as more of its suppliers rely on renewable energy between now and 2020.

Innovate or Die: The Next Big Trend in Sustainability

Innovative approaches to sustainability are rapidly becoming the next frontier of corporate differentiation. Being more innovative is not only essential to improve the bottom line, it is also a pathway to growth.

The combination of rapid technological change and slow economic growth are driving innovation. At the macroeconomic level innovation is essential to profitability and economic growth, at the level of the individual organization, innovation is increasingly a key success factor.

Innovations that Sequester Carbon to Combat Climate Change (Videos)

There have been a wide assortment of innovative solutions proposed to combat the climate crisis. While most of these technologies offer low carbon alternatives to existing technologies, others actually remove greenhouse gases (GHGs) like carbon right out of the air.

Some innovations use renewable energy to power traditional technologies like air conditioning and water desalination. Others use structures in novel ways like rotating power-generating buildings and skyscrapers.

Seminar - Carbon Capture and Storage in the UK

The seminar, Carbon Capture and Storage in the UK is subtitled "policy priorities, collaboration and long-term confidence." It will take place on Tuesday July 7th, 2015 at the Royal Aeronautical Society, No. 4 Hamilton Place, London, UK. This CDP certified event features Peter Emery, Director, Capture Power and Production Director, Drax Group; Bill Spence, Business Opportunity Manager, Peterhead Project, Shell and Amy Clemitshaw, Deputy Director, Fossil Fuel Generation and Carbon Capture and Storage Policy, Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The Failure of Clean Coal

Despite billions of dollars in investments it would appear that clean coal is an expensive pipe-dream that is not delivering results. Clean coal technology has been plagued with cost overruns and it has been shown to be far less effective at sequestering carbon than its supporters had promised. Independent assessments also suggest that it is proving to be a financial boondoggle.

Apple Makes Sustainability Investments in China

Apple is making China greener and expanding their market presence. From solar farms, to forests and greener supply chains Apple is making some serious sustainability focused investments in China.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is presently in China. He announced his arrival on his new Weibo account (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter). He said that he is in China to launch, "innovative environmental programs." As of Tuesday morning Cook already had 400,000 followers.

Apple Proves its Never too Late to Go Green

Apple's successful adoption of a host of sustainability initiatives demonstrate that it is never too late to go green. The conventional wisdom suggests that to be recognized as a sustainability leader you have to get there first and be green to the core. However, Apple has made some profound changes in recent years which have taken the company from the fringes where it was singled out as a sustainability laggard to its current incarnation as a sustainability leader.

A 2013 Green Market Oracle article asked whether Apple's sustainability efforts where too little too late. It would appear that the answer to that question is apparently not.

Video - Massive Apple and First Solar Partnership

Corporate behemoth Apple is making good on its embrace of sustainability with a new $848 million 3000 acre solar project powered by panels from First Solar. This will triple Apple's supply of solar energy. This electricity will power its offices in California, along with 52 retail stores and a data center. This is a good deal for Apple as there are no upfront investment costs and they will get electricity cheaper than they would have through the existing grid. However as Apple CEO Tim Cook explained this is about more than just ROI, renewable energy projects are consistent with Apple's values. As Cook has said repeatedly Apple's new corporate ethos is about "leaving the world a better world than we found it." Under Cook Apple is aligning the company with the values of its customers including environmental sustainability.

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Apple's Sustainability Leadership

Apple has long been a technological leader and now they are morphing into a sustainability leader. On September 9, Apple unveiled a couple of new iPhones, a smartwatch device and a payment system. This is an important launch for Apple as its market share is declining. In 2012, it had a dominating 25 percent share of the smartphone market. As the demand for greener electronics grows, Apple understands that holding and capturing market share necessitates an increased emphasis on social and environmental responsibility.

Apple has produced some of the world’s greenest mobile phones. They are also a leading force in cloud computing, which is powered almost entirely by renewable energy. Now they are increasing their efforts to expand their sustainability initiatives.

Green Innovation and the Economic Importance of Fossil Fuels in Canada

Fossil fuels are the cornerstone of the Canadian economy and many companies are developing technological processes to help minimize their environmental impacts. Fossil fuels and the tar sands in particular are powerful economic drivers of the Canadian economy. The tar sands generate $91 billion for the Canadian economy. Oil and refined petroleum products are responsible for 25 percent of Canadian exports. The oil sands have seen substantial growth in the last couple of decades and they have provided a corresponding number of jobs. As reported in the Financial Post, a February 2014, IHS CERA study, showed that in 2012, oil sands generated almost a half a million jobs in Canada (478,000) Canadian jobs or 3 percent of all jobs in the country and

We are seeing "green" innovation in the Canadian fossil fuel industry including investments in carbon capture and storage. This type of innovation could reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20 percent or more, tailings could be reduced by 80 percent and river water could be diminished by 25 percent.

Event - Fuel Cells 2014 Science & Technology

This event will take place on April 3 - 4, 2014, at the NH Grand Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam. Thousands of fuel cells are being produced annually and sold commercially in a wide range of applications, but continued research, both fundamental and applied, will be essential to help reduce production costs and increase durability.

Examples of Renewable Energy Innovations in 2013

Renewable energy is one of the fastest growing and most interesting areas of innovation. The number of patents issued for renewable-energy technologies has risen sharply over the last decade. The number and size of investments in research and development, as well as in the growth of markets for these products is driving innovation. Here are some examples of renewable energy innovation from 2013.

Pyroelectricity

A new type of electronic circuit was developed in 2013 that may help to improve the performance of solar panels. Typically cooler, slower, mellower electrons don't have enough energy to produce a usable electric current. Ultrasolar has developed an electronic circuit (ideally built into an inverter) that passes a very high frequency signal backwards through the DC wires into the solar module and cells. The slower electrons catch these waves and are turned into hot and fast electrons for long enough to escape the crystal matrix and generate a useful current. This could lead to inverter efficiencies of over 100 percent.

Event - INNOVA-CON 2014 Conference

INNOVA-CON 2014 will take place on January 14-15, 2014 in Brooklyn, New York. The first conference by the International Association of Innovation Professionals (IAOIP) featuring world-class innovation experts. The INNOVA-CON is a great opportunity to meet in person and connect with luminaries in the innovation profession. Content will focus on how to use strategies and methods of innovation to create value.

IAOIP is a professional membership organization that is the world's only independent innovation certification body, providing members with the knowledge, skills and opportunities to deliver real change in their industry or field.