Apple makes iPhone 14 series more climate-friendly with recycled elements
In a bid to save the environment from the harmful impact of various metals in devices, Apple has designed the new iPhone 14 series with introduced 100 per cent recycled rare earth elements used in all magnets, including those used in MagSafe, and 100 per cent recycled tungsten metal in the Taptic Engine.
The Taptic Engine uses haptic technology to provide users with tactile feedback to simulate actions, such as clicks on a stationary touch screen.
According to the company, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are designed to minimise their impact on the environment.
“Both models also include 100 per cent recycled tin in the solder of multiple printed circuit boards, and 100 per cent recycled gold in the plating of multiple printed circuit boards and in the wire of all cameras,” the company said.
“Fibre-based packaging does not use outer plastic wrap, bringing Apple closer to its goal of completely removing plastic from all packaging by 2025,” it added.
Apple currently is carbon neutral for global corporate operations, and by 2030, it plans to be 100 per cent carbon neutral across its entire manufacturing supply chain and all product life cycles.
“This means that every Apple device sold, from component manufacturing, assembly, transport, customer use, charging, all the way through recycling and material recovery, will have net-zero climate impact,” said the company.
In March this year, Apple announced to use the world’s first low-carbon aluminium in iPhone SE.
With the help of $4.7 billion investments in green bonds, Apple could jump-start the development of new low-carbon manufacturing and recycling technologies, the company said in a statement.
Since 2016, Apple has issued three Green Bonds aimed to accelerate progress toward the company’s goal to become carbon neutral across its supply chain by 2030.
As part of this work, Apple announced it was purchasing direct carbon-free aluminium from Canada-based ELYSIS – the company behind the world’s first direct carbon-free aluminium smelting process.
“Apple is committed to leaving the planet better than we found it, and our Green Bonds are a key tool to drive our environmental efforts forward,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives.
Apple has also made significant progress in reducing the carbon impact of aluminium and other metals found in its products. By switching to recycled aluminium and aluminium smelted using hydroelectricity instead of fossil fuels, the company’s carbon emissions associated with aluminium have decreased by nearly 70 per cent since 2015.
Every model in the iPad lineup, including iPad Air, along with MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini, and Apple Watch, are made with a 100 per cent recycled aluminium enclosure.
