Apple
By Richard Diamond
Factbox
Global number of employees: 98,000
Locations globally: 453 Retail Stores around the world
Square feet of occupied space: n/a
LEED-certified Buildings: 23
EnergyStar Buildings: 0
Corporate Goals & Initiatives
Apple's sustainability goal is:
"to power all Apple corporate offices, retail stores, and data centers entirely with energy from renewable sources — solar, wind, micro‑hydro, and geothermal, which uses heat right from the earth. We’re designing new buildings and updating existing ones to use as little electricity as possible. We’re investing in our own Apple onsite energy production as well as establishing relationships with third‑party energy suppliers to source renewable energy." (Apple 2015).
As of 2014, 100 percent of Apple's U.S. operations and 87 percent of their operations worldwide were powered by renewable energy, including their current headquarters (Figure 1) (Apple 2015). Apple and First Solar announced in early 2015 that Apple was paying $848 million for 25 years of the output of a 130 MW block of First Solar's California Flats project in southeast Monterrey County. Economists speculate that the deal may have been influenced by the company's corporate commitment to sustainability, Google's recent solar investments, and by involved favorable tax credits (Wolfram 2015). Focusing on its supply chain (energy and paper) and overseas operations, Apple is building a 20MW photovoltaics system in China and partnering with the World Wildlife fund to safeguard 1 million acres of forests from unsustainable logging practices (Gallucci 2015). The company's ultimate goal is to power 100% of its supply chain with renewables (Phillips 2015).
Figure 1. Apple headquarters, Cupertino, California
Apple's commitment to sustainability is company wide, including headquarters, retail stores, data centers, and their manufacturing sites. As noted, Apple’s main campus in Cupertino, CA runs on 100 percent purchased renewable energy, and energy efficiency is a high priority. In 2012, they completed a major energy overhaul of their six buildings at the Infinite Loop location, achieving a combined electric and natural gas savings of more than 30 percent at a time when occupancy increased by more than 12 percent.
Apple's electricity use has been increasing due to the growth in data centers, but has stayed flat in corporate and retail sectors despite increases in area and people due to the investments in efficiency (Figures 2a-b).
Figure 2a. Apple's Electricity Use for Corporate, Data Centers,
and Retail Stores, 2012 and 2013
Source: Apple 2014
Figure 2b. Apple's Electricity Use per Capita 2010 and 2013
Source: Apple 2014
By applying energy-equipment upgrades and control system improvements across the more than 100 buildings they occupy in Cupertino and the area, Apple has saved 28.5 million kWh of electricity and 751,000 therms of natural gas over the past three years. Their Cupertino buildings are supplied by 100 percent clean, renewable energy. An onsite directed biogas fuel cell currently produces approximately 4 million kWh of electricity annually, and rooftop solar systems on the Vallco Parkway and Homestead facilities collectively produce 1.1 million kWh annually. To meet the rest of their load, Apple purchases clean power through California’s direct access program and use the Green-e Energy program to certify that it is truly renewable (Apple 2014). Twenty biodiesel buses already transport employees within a large surrounding radius.
Flagship Project: Apple Campus 2 (under construction)
Figure 3. Apple Campus 2
Steve Jobs presented his vision to the Cupertino City Council in 2011 (video here). Energy was not discussed per se, but considerable emphasis was given to other environmental dimensions of the project and implications for the broader community. One aim is to consolidate a workforce of approximately 12,000 people, currently spread among many sites in the region, and, in the process reduce transportation dependency for some. Another overarching goal is to provide a smaller aggregate built footprint by removing many buildings and constructing a single far larger one, while increasing the accompanying vegetated space. Some of the targets are:
Increase landscaped portion of the 150 acre site from 20% to 80% (while increasing interior space by 20%)
Reduce surface parking by 90% (parking underground)
Reduce site-wide building footprint by 30%
Increase vegetation cover by 60% (from 3,700 to 6,000 trees)
Apple is committed to using 100% renewable energy throughout Apple Campus 2 (Figure 3), including the sites east and west of North Tantau Avenue. The Main Building will incorporate a variety of technologies that help to achieve Apple’s net zero energy goal. Initiatives include radiant conditioning systems, LED electric lighting, natural ventilation, and green information and communication technologies. The building will use 30% less energy than typical R&D office buildings (Apple 2015).
Other energy initiatives at Campus 2 include:
300 electrical vehicle-charging stations will be provided, with built-in capacity to expand.
Buildings will be designed to allow for passive heating and cooling and high performance building systems.
The majority of energy use be generated on-site through the use of photovoltaics and fuel cells with directed biogas. These will be supplemented by grid purchased renewable energy if needed during periods of peak demand.
Approximately 8MW of photovoltaics will be installed on the Main Building and parking structure roofs.
In addition to their buildings-related energy goals, Apple has plans for transportation energy reduction, based on their current programs. These new plans include:
"Getting to and from the new campus will be greener, too. We’re expanding our existing commute alternatives program by 20 percent. This means that over a third of our nearly 15,000 employees in Cupertino can commute to the new campus using our biofuel buses, public transit, bicycles, carpools, and their own two feet. And for drivers, we’ll have over 300 electric vehicle charging stations."
Water use is also targeted for conservation, both at headquarters and in manufacturing centers. In 2013, Apple made a number of water improvements at their Cupertino headquarters. Apple converted over six acres of landscaping to climate‑adapted, drought‑tolerant plants and retrofitted the irrigation system to optimize water savings. They replaced over 36,000 square feet of turf with drought‑tolerant plants, which is expected to save over 3 million gallons of water each year. In 2015, Apple agreed to co-fund one-third of a $17M recycled water infrastructure project that will serve the community in which Campus 2 is located (Love 2015). Apple will itself use only three percent of the pipeline's capacity.
References
Apple, Inc., September 2013. Apple Campus 2 Project Description. Submitted to the City of Cupertino. Accessed March 5, 2015. http://www.cupertino.org/index.aspx?page=1107
Apple, Inc., 2014. Environmental Responsibility Report, Covering FY 2013. Accessed March 5, 2015. https://www.apple.com/environment/reports/docs/Apple_Environmental_Responsibility_Report_2014.pdf
Apple, Inc. 2015. Environmental Responsibility Report, Covering FY14. http://images.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Responsibility_Report_2015.pdf
Burrows, Peter. April 13, 2013 "Inside Apple's Plans for Its Futuristic, $5 Billion Headquarters". Businessweek. Accessed March 5, 2015
Gallucci, M. 2015. "Apple Inc. Unveils Environmental Initiatives In China, Pledges To Protect 1 Million Acres Of Sustainable Forests." International Business Times, May 11. http://www.ibtimes.com/apple-inc-unveils-environmental-initiatives-china-pledges-protect-1-million-acres-1916449
Love, J. 2015. “Apple Campus 2: Massive Recycled Water Project Approved.” San Jose Mercury News. http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27778101/water-district-board-consider-recycled-water-apple-campus
Philips, A. 2015. "Apple Makes Huge Committment to Sustainability." Climate Progress, http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/05/11/3657221/apple-sustainable-paper-annoucement/
Saleem, Fahad. October 21, 2014. “What it’s like to work in Facebook, Google and Apple: Cool Workplace Environments.” Yologadget. Accessed March 5, 2015. http://www.yologadget.com/others/what-its-like-to-work-in-facebook-google-and-apple-cool-workplace-environments/
Wolfram, Catherine, March 2, 2015. "Why did Apple purchase so much for 130 MW of solar?" Accessed March 15, 2015. https://energyathaas.wordpress.com/2015/03/02/why-did-apple-pay-so-much-for-130-mw-of-solar-is-google-part-of-the-answer/?utm_source=Blog+for+Mar+2%2C+2015&utm_campaign=blog+re+37&utm_medium=email