Apple supports World Water Day with renewed commitment to sustainable water use
Apple has used World Water Day to announce its continued commitment to existing partnerships working to increase the "efficient and safe" use of water resources.
Dianshan Lake in Shanghai. (Source: Apple)
As iPhone component suppliers work to safeguard against droughts, Apple has marked World Water Day with an announcement about its partnership with the International Alliance for Sustainable Water Management (IASWM). This organization sets standards, and certifies compliance, for companies reliant on water for their manufacturing processes.
Although a worldwide commitment, Apple has concentrated on getting its Chinese supply chain partners certified.
"We firmly believe in the power of lead by example and strive to inspire enterprises in China and beyond to push their supply chains into water resources management," said Ge Yue, vice president of Apple and managing director of Greater China, in a statement (in translation.)
"We would like to congratulate the supply chain enterprises that have recently been certified by the International Alliance for Sustainable Water Management, but we will never stop there," continued Ge Yue. "Together, we will continue to work together to create a new positive impact in the communities we operate to protect more of this valuable shared resource."
World Water Day is a United Nations programme, first held on March 22, 1993. In 2018, Apple partnered with the IASWM, and Chunhua Technology -- an Apple circuit board supplier -- gained its Alliance Gold certification. Many other firms have since followed.
"We are pleased to see more and more Apple supply chain companies participating in our certification programs," said the IASWM's Regional Program Director for Asia Pacific, Sustainable Water Management Alliance, Xu Yu, "which highlights the impact and strength of our partnership with Apple to promote first-class water resources management."
"Real water resources management requires collaboration and leadership," continued Xu Yu. "Apple's constantly improving standards for itself and supply chain businesses set an example for the entire industry."
Apple says its collaboration with the Alliance is part of its Clean Water program. In 2019, this project saved an estimated total of 9.3 billion gallons of freshwater worldwide. According to Apple's World Water Day announcement, that rose to 41.3 billion gallons.
Stay on top of all Apple news right from your HomePod. Say, "Hey, Siri, play AppleInsider," and you'll get latest AppleInsider Podcast. Or ask your HomePod mini for "AppleInsider Daily" instead and you'll hear a fast update direct from our news team. And, if you're interested in Apple-centric home automation, say "Hey, Siri, play HomeKit Insider," and you'll be listening to our newest specialized podcast in moments.
Dianshan Lake in Shanghai. (Source: Apple)
As iPhone component suppliers work to safeguard against droughts, Apple has marked World Water Day with an announcement about its partnership with the International Alliance for Sustainable Water Management (IASWM). This organization sets standards, and certifies compliance, for companies reliant on water for their manufacturing processes.
Although a worldwide commitment, Apple has concentrated on getting its Chinese supply chain partners certified.
"We firmly believe in the power of lead by example and strive to inspire enterprises in China and beyond to push their supply chains into water resources management," said Ge Yue, vice president of Apple and managing director of Greater China, in a statement (in translation.)
"We would like to congratulate the supply chain enterprises that have recently been certified by the International Alliance for Sustainable Water Management, but we will never stop there," continued Ge Yue. "Together, we will continue to work together to create a new positive impact in the communities we operate to protect more of this valuable shared resource."
World Water Day is a United Nations programme, first held on March 22, 1993. In 2018, Apple partnered with the IASWM, and Chunhua Technology -- an Apple circuit board supplier -- gained its Alliance Gold certification. Many other firms have since followed.
"We are pleased to see more and more Apple supply chain companies participating in our certification programs," said the IASWM's Regional Program Director for Asia Pacific, Sustainable Water Management Alliance, Xu Yu, "which highlights the impact and strength of our partnership with Apple to promote first-class water resources management."
"Real water resources management requires collaboration and leadership," continued Xu Yu. "Apple's constantly improving standards for itself and supply chain businesses set an example for the entire industry."
Apple says its collaboration with the Alliance is part of its Clean Water program. In 2019, this project saved an estimated total of 9.3 billion gallons of freshwater worldwide. According to Apple's World Water Day announcement, that rose to 41.3 billion gallons.
Stay on top of all Apple news right from your HomePod. Say, "Hey, Siri, play AppleInsider," and you'll get latest AppleInsider Podcast. Or ask your HomePod mini for "AppleInsider Daily" instead and you'll hear a fast update direct from our news team. And, if you're interested in Apple-centric home automation, say "Hey, Siri, play HomeKit Insider," and you'll be listening to our newest specialized podcast in moments.
Comments
But the truth is that water is scarce in some areas, over abundant in others and just fine in other areas. You cannot generalize.
On the other hand, human intervention has probably done more to create water crisis than anything: Projects on the Colorado river, the Ganges & Yellow rivers as well as on the Nile have created crisis in other, downstream areas.
Case in point, the Colorado River Basin feeds Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California.
https://www.americanrivers.org/river/colorado-river/
The Lower Colorado River, which provides water to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, and Tucson, already faces a one million acre-foot deficit and is in danger of running dry far before the Pacific. Climate change is expected to further reduce the river’s flow by 10 to 30 percent by 2050.
That's actual scarcity. You provide anecdotes from a region that doe not have historic water scarcity. See the problem with your POV?
Now an argument could be made that this is all about the follies of creating agriculture in deserts, but at the same time, these regions provide year round produce to rest of the U.S., and also supports thriving economies.
For the record, I live in Nevada on the Eastern Sierra, and our current snowpack is at 60% of average, and that is a precursor to a California drought as current storage is depleted and not replaced. That's the definition of scarcity.
Scarcity is a factor of the usage vs supply. Population is the primary driver for usage, but so is agriculture. Changes in usage continue to be the primary mitigation for scarcity. Importation of water into California isn't a viable option, desalination isn't practical on a broad scale, and there are very few sites in the Sierra, Cascades, or Rockies, suitable for large scale storage upstream.