Apple launches a $300 million China Clean Energy Fund

This week, Apple launched a new "first-of-its-kind" clean energy investment fund that aims to connect
its Chinese suppliers with renewable energy.

The clean energy fund will see Apple work with 10 initial suppliers to invest $300 million over the next four years, a move that is part of the company's commitment
to tackling climate change and increasing the use of renewable energy in its supply chain.
The fund will invest in and help develop clean energy projects
worth more than 1 gigawatt (GW) in China.

Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of environment, policy and social programs, said
.
"We are pleased that many of our suppliers are participating in the fund and hope that this model can be scaled up globally to help businesses of all sizes make a significant positive impact
on our planet.
"

Apple announced in April that its global operations in 43 countries around the world are now powered
by 100% renewable energy.
At the same time, Apple also announced that nine new suppliers have committed to power their Apple-specific operations with 100% clean energy, bringing the total number of
companies that have made this commitment to Apple to 23.

"Apple is showing much-needed leadership in China and the rest of East Asia responsible for the massive carbon footprint of its supply chain," said Gary Cook, senior corporate activist at Greenpeace, "Apple is the first company to extend its 100% renewable energy commitment to its supply chain and has made steady progress in securing the commitment of its nearly two dozen suppliers to supply renewable energy
to the Apple portion of its production line.
" Apple's Clean Energy Fund is expected to be an important step in providing a cooperative funding mechanism for Apple suppliers to promote renewable energy adoption
on a larger scale.
”

However, Apple's policy needs to become the industry standard, not an isolated anomaly
worth commenting on.
Companies like Apple and companies like Samsung, which pledged 100 percent renewable energy in the United States, the European Union and China last month, need to lead the way, providing transparent and strong signals
to competitors and peers.

"We need to see other major IT brands step up and assume the air pollution and climate impacts of their supply chains in China, Vietnam and other parts of Asia where demand for coal is still growing," Gary Cook continued, "Customers expect companies to take action on climate change, and we are slowly seeing more companies take responsibility and embrace renewable energy
.
" ”

Just last month, in response to a nearly year-long campaign campaign for Greenpeace, Samsung Electronics pledged to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity
in its operations in the United States, China and the European Union.

By 2020, Apple expects the company and its suppliers to generate more than 4 gigawatts of clean energy, a third
of the company's manufacturing electricity footprint 。 The 10 initial suppliers of Apple's China Clean Energy Fund include: Catcher Technology, Compal Electronics, Corning Incorporated, Golden Arrow, Jabil, Luxshare-ICT, Pegatron, Solvay, Sunway Communication, and Wistron
.