Apple donates to five national parks in China

Apple, the most popular tech company in the US, announced a donation to the China Green Carbon Foundation. The noble goal is aimed at creating environmental training and education opportunities in five national parks across China.

According to Apple, as China’s national park system continues to evolve, this initiative is designed to support the development of future leaders in environmental management.

According to a machine translation of a report by the IT Home site, Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized the role of national parks in protecting and showcasing the beauty and wonder of the planet. He expressed pride in Apple's contribution to expanding educational opportunities within China’s national parks, highlighting their potential as valuable training grounds for future environmental leaders.

Apple's donation should provide young people starting careers in environmental protection and management with training and internship opportunities. It will also encourage collaboration across various sectors to explore best practices, ensuring that young individuals can actively contribute to the development of national parks.

In the coming months, the China Green Carbon Foundation will form a National Park Innovation Alliance Working Group, comprising top universities, research institutions, and NGOs in China. The group will consult with global experts in ecological conservation and restoration to design and implement new educational programs, with Apple providing support.

This new partnership builds on the existing collaboration between Apple and the China Green Carbon Foundation. Previously, the two organizations worked on a pilot project in Chengdu to showcase China's potential for nature-based carbon removal, which helped identify best practices for carbon removal in rural and urban areas, with plans to expand to more regions.

In another environment-focused project with the SEE Foundation, Apple supported the development of certified blue carbon methodologies in China. Blue carbon refers to the carbon stored by coastal and marine ecosystems, such as mangroves, which absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Apple, in its official statement, shared that its global operations are already carbon-neutral, and it is working towards its Apple 2030 goal – achieving carbon neutrality across its entire supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030.

As part of this effort, Apple collaborates closely with local partners in China, including suppliers, to enhance water resource management, increase the use of recycled and renewable materials in its products, and accelerate the shift to clean energy. Through the China Clean Energy Fund, launched in 2018, Apple and its 12 local suppliers have invested in over 1 gigawatt of wind and solar energy projects across 14 provinces in China.

Personally, I can't help but smile when I come across yet another story about Apple's "green" efforts.

Not so long ago, Apple unveiled its "carbon-neutral" Apple Watches (Series 9 and Ultra 2) with much fanfare. However, the European consumer organization BEUC promptly threw a spanner in the works. You see, Apple’s claim of being "carbon-neutral" is based on offsetting credits (because who doesn't love a good carbon credit?).

While Apple assures us they’ve cut emissions by 81% since 2015, BEUC was unimpressed, calling the claims "scientifically inaccurate" and suggesting consumers might feel misled. The EU, in its infinite wisdom, plans to ban such carbon-neutral declarations, likely by 2026.