The Mac maker releases letter from its Vice President of Environmental Initiatives

Apr 22, 2014 08:24 GMT  ·  By

A new environment-centric site has been published by Apple this week showing the company’s commitment towards reducing its carbon footprint with green, renewable energy. A video narrated by CEO Tim Cook himself is available, along with a letter from Lisa Jackson, the newly-hired vice president of Environmental Initiatives.

Titled “Better,” an impressive video covering Apple’s key environmental endeavors features Tim Cook as the narrator of the company’s story in relation to climate change, and the actions it takes to reduce its impact.

Apple looks to the sun, to the earth’s geothermal energy, wind, and other natural phenomena to help power its facilities around the world.

Over 90 percent of its buildings are powered by renewable energy, while its data centers rely 100% on solar power and other green forms of energy.

Leading Apple’s environmental efforts is Lisa Jackson, who was appointed as vice president of Environmental Initiatives by CEO Tim Cook himself.

An open letter from Jackson posted this month states, “At Apple, we believe innovation is about making things better. This simple idea drives us to take action in the face of the very real problem of climate change. We feel the responsibility to consider everything we do in order to reduce our impact on the environment. This means using greener materials and constantly inventing new ways to conserve precious resources.”

“We aim to create not just the best products in the world, but the best products for the world. We have a long way to go, but we are proud of our progress. For example, every one of our data centers is powered entirely by clean sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal energy. So whenever you download a song, update an app, or ask Siri a question, the energy Apple uses is provided by nature,” Jackson adds.

Of course, coal and fossil fuels also come from nature, so Jackson could have used a better way to express what Apple is doing in terms of preserving the environment. But the letter manages to get the message across nonetheless.

Jackson also notes that all Apple products far exceed the stringent energy efficiency guidelines set by ENERGY STAR, and that “every Apple Retail Store will now take back Apple products for free and recycle them responsibly.” The company will even take products from other vendors for recycling.

Commenting on Apple’s “Better” initiative, Jackson adds, “‘Better’ means we’re never done. We push ourselves every day to develop innovations that reduce our carbon footprint, use cleaner and safer materials, and show that what’s good for the planet can also be good for business. At Apple, we continue to put nature at the center of our business and design principles. We promise to keep you updated on our journey.”