Apple ad explains origins of company's forestry program

Posted:
in General Discussion edited July 2017
A new Apple ad posted to YouTube on Thursday focuses on the company's worldwide effort to preserve and manage forestland, itself part of a wider goal to achieve a net-zero impact on the world's supply of virgin fiber.




Arriving three months late, the Earth Day ad traces the origins of Apple's forestry program back to a dinner VP of Hardware Engineering Kate Bergeron hosted for a group of female senior executives in 2013. Present at the meet-up was VP of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson, who at the time was one month into her tenure.

"We were drinking wine and Kate said, 'We should just buy a forest,'" said V.Y. Chow, data and environmental scientist at Apple.

The off-the-cuff remark led to an investigation of Apple's impact on the world's forests. Thanks to its wildly popular product lines, Apple consumes a huge amount of virgin fiber, most of which goes into packaging.

The aim shifted from buying a forest to preserving the resources Apple uses in its paper products. In 2015, the company took first steps toward that goal with the preservation of more than 36,000 acres of forestland in Maine and North Carolina. A month later, the green initiative was expanded with the creation of one million acres of responsibly managed forests in China.

"At this point over 99 percent of the papers and fibers we use are responsibly sourced or recycled," said Connie Yang, who works in packaging product design at Apple.

Apple hopes to reach one million acres of responsibly managed forestland by 2020.





Today's ad was accomplished in a whimsical hand-drawn style identical to Apple's Earth Day series of videos that debuted in April. Those ads highlighted various internal initiatives designed to help mitigate Apple's impact on the environment, from the production of artificial sweat to keeping yaks on solar farms. A separate Earth Day 2017 video threw a spotlight on Liam, a specially designed robotic arm that disassembles iPhones and other gadgets into their component parts for recovery and recycling.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    ...production of artificial sweat...??


  • Reply 2 of 7
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,861administrator
    ...production of artificial sweat...??


    Yes.
     

  • Reply 3 of 7
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    I appreciate having these videos, and I love the content of the videos, but man do I hate the animation style.
  • Reply 4 of 7
    appexappex Posts: 687member
    Does Apple want to protect the environment? Really? Then:

    - Stop making iMac and do headless desktop Macs. CPU may last for seven years, but displays last for more than 20 years.

    - Stop using batteries whenever possible. Make wired keyboards and mice.

    - Stop wireless charging (a waste of energy).
    Kenster999
  • Reply 5 of 7
    mr omr o Posts: 1,046member
    Responsibly managed forests ?

    Does it mean they will respect the eco system of the forrest, by having a variety of trees? Oftentimes a cut forest gets replaced by one type of fast growing low cost tree, resulting in a net loss of biodiversity while giving the company green credentials. A lose-win, if you like: The company wins in the short time, humanity loses in the long term.

    I hope IKEA takes notice and follows Apple's lead.

    >:x

    EDIT: grammar
    edited July 2017
  • Reply 6 of 7
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    appex said:
    Does Apple want to protect the environment? Really? Then:

    - Stop making iMac and do headless desktop Macs. CPU may last for seven years, but displays last for more than 20 years.

    - Stop using batteries whenever possible. Make wired keyboards and mice.

    - Stop wireless charging (a waste of energy).
    1) First of all, no to all that crap you said. Why not tell then to shut down the company have then all kill themselves and any offspring if you're going to make silly statements about being excessive about reducing your environmental impact?

    2) You really think displays last for 20 years? You only buy TVs once every 20 years? You'd be happen with the display of the original iPhone's 320×480 TN panel with a weak backlight, poor color reproduction, slow refresh rate, and nice big gap between it and the top glass, and that's only "half-way" through its usable life cycle, according to you. I personally like the advancements Apple makes in their displays.

    3) You can use a CPU for longer than 7 years. You can use a lot of things longer than how often I'm certain you update your products. You update them because you want the latest tech. Apple disassembles them—now using LIAM—and then either uses good parts in other devices or goes further to break them down even further so that the core components, like minerals, can be reused without having to mine the earth to the get them. This is good thing, despite your words saying otherwise.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    Accidentally watched the APPLE PARK: Late July 2107 Aerial Update while listening to one of their alt.icon worker's perform THIS ISN'T THE PLACE and started flashing back over the past 40 years of Apple (until the flyover ends and the alt.music chained to a noisy Google.ad about Depression followed by BURNING BRIGHTLY rofl, Trent should sue for dat one.)

    Ive reportedly stated to WSJ that the forest controversy is overblown, that Apple was working with arborists for a long time before buying up the 9,000 trees for their movie inspiring new food court.
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