Earth Day is dedicated to environmental awareness, and is celebrated on April 22 each year. As well as changing the color of their logo, Apple has curated a special section of its iTunes Store dedicated to apps, books and movies which focus on environmental issues.
CEO Cook makes strides on environmental issues
Apple staff are also given green uniform shirts and name tags to wear on the special day. The only other day which sees Apple modify its logo is World AIDS Day, when the logo turns red.
CEO Tim Cook tweeted about Earth Day, posting a link to Apple’s environmental website and underlining the company’s intention to “leave the world better than we found it.” Apple’s website was updated a couple of days ago with the latest Environmental Responsibility Report, which stated that 100% of U.S. operations and 87% of global operations are now powered by renewable energy sources.
Tim Cook has done a lot to improve Apple’s environmental efforts, including recycling and renewable energy initiatives, reducing the company’s carbon footprint and partnering with The Conservation Fund in order to protect and create the forests from which its packaging materials are taken.
Supply chain next on the list
The next step for Apple is to clean up its supply chain, including its manufacturing processes and suppliers. “We’ve made a big impact in our own facilities, and now we’re tackling the global supply chain,” said Lisa Jackson, Vice President of Environmental Initiatives at Apple.
Apple’s supply chain has come under the spotlight thanks to the incredible growth of the company. One problem for tech companies is that they can easily be implicated in bad working conditions because supply chains are often spread all over the world. Other companies have been criticized for using bonded labor, where people are forced to work in order to repay debts, but Apple announced a ban on the practice in February.
The company has made progress by exerting pressure on international suppliers, who would presumably rather comply with Apple’s wishes than lose a huge client.
