As tech companies like Apple grow in scale, the corporations commitment to environmental standards comes under increased scrutiny. As part of its updated filing on environmental impact, Apple has stated the company has increased renewable energy use by 114 percent over the last two years.
Bloomberg reported on the news today, after Apple updated its 2012 environmental page. Most notably, Cupertino has stated the company's data centers -- providing all that wonderful digital content on iTunes -- are now 100 percent run on local renewable resources.
Last year, Greenpeace brought attention to Apple's data centers, charging the company with cleaning up its coal-burning act in Maiden, North Carolina. Last April, Apple gave a commitment to start suing a large solar array -- and that commitment has now been met. 60 percent of the data center's energy is produced on-site. The remaining energy is derived from nearby biogas fuel cells.
Of course, it's important to note these figures only apply to Apple's corporate facilities. Manufacturing accounts for 61 percent of Apple's total carbon footprint for 2012: 30.9 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions (according to Apple). One has to wonder how those figures are deduced, given China's lax attention to, and accounting of, pollution.
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Image Source: Apple
