The technology company “Apple” has recently unveiled its 2023 Environmental Progress Report, a comprehensive 114-page document. Within this report, Apple has creatively distilled its crucial highlights into an engaging video that enhances the conveyed information. This innovative approach has sparked discussions among individuals who might not have otherwise delved into the actual sustainability report.

One topic of discussion that arose from Apple’s video was about trees, finding it fitting to our main topic of conversation here, I decided to do a bit more investigating into what exactly Apple is doing with trees. This led to finding out about the many forests that Apple has grown throughout the world in an effort to reduce carbon from the atmosphere.

Apple’s Forests

Back in 2021, Apple partnered with the investing firm Goldman Sachs to pledge $200 million in an attempt to remove a whopping amount of one million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. To put that amount into perspective, that is the same amount of carbon dioxide put into the atmosphere by over 200,000 motor vehicles. Now, in 2023, Apple has pledged another $200 million in order to double its efforts.

Specifically, Apple has made huge progress in countries such as Paraguay and Brazil in order to restore 150,000 acres of forests. Not only is Apple focused on restoring, but they are also working on taking preventative measures. They are doing this by protecting an additional 100,00 acres of forests, wetlands, and grasslands.

By creating over 250,000 acres of healthy forests, Apple is planning on removing one million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year as early as 2025.

 

Besides planting trees, Apple is also planning on making a financial gain on their investments, which I will admit sounds a bit greedy, but after looking into it further it is something that will be truly beneficial in the field of tree restoration. Apple will make their return on investment by selling the fully grown trees in an effort to show how forest restoration can be helpful to the environment and financially valuable.

Demonstrating the possibility of generating profit while simultaneously benefiting the environment will serve as an inspiration for other companies, such as Apple, to take similar steps towards tree restoration. This would significantly accelerate the tree restoration process worldwide, an industry that typically receives limited financial support.

What Else Could Be Done?

Even with all the steps that Apple has taken in an attempt to remove carbon from their environment, there is always more that could be done to not only restore trees but also open the conversation up on tree restoration.

One potential action they could take is to plant a tree for each product they sell. Given Apple’s position as one of the leading smartphone brands, millions of individuals buying their products daily. This could result in the planting of millions of trees annually, which, while not equivalent to entire forests, could significantly raise awareness about tree restoration.