Apple Inc and the WWF plan to collaborate to manage more than 404,600 hectares of forests across China as Apple chief executive Tim Cook arrives in Beijing to announce new green initiatives.
Apple is funding the five-year project to be managed by the global charity to plant trees and implement environmental standards that use less land and water — and produce less pollution — to make paper, they said in separate statements.
Solar farms in California, hydroelectric turbines in Oregon and data centers in Europe are among environmental projects announced by the world’s most valuable company.
Former US Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson, who now heads Apple’s green initiatives, is pushing to power company facilities with renewable energy and reduce impact from its supply chain.
Apple yesterday also named more of the local partners in its 40 megawatt solar power project in Sichuan Province that it announced last month. They include Leshan Electric Power Co (樂山電力) and SunPower Corp.
Apple plans to expand its renewable energy projects to manufacturing plants in China.
“This will not happen overnight — in fact, it will take years — but it is important work that has to happen,” Cook said in yesterday’s statement. “Apple is in a unique position to take the initiative toward this ambitious goal. It is a responsibility we accept.”
Cook marked the news with his first post on Sina Corp’s (新浪) Weibo microblog, with his account drawing more than 216,000 followers in its first day.
“Happy to be back in Beijing, announcing innovative new environmental programs,” Cook wrote in a post that attracted more than 23,000 comments.
The account and Cook’s arrival in Beijing were confirmed by Beijing-based Apple spokeswoman Kitty Potter.
Under the forestry plan, which aims to achieve what Apple calls a “net-zero impact” on the supply of sustainable virgin fiber, the WWF is to work with local governments and organizations in China to identify and manage suitable tracts of land, Potter said.
WWF is to work with groups in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan and Yunan, she said.
Neither the WWF nor Apple would buy forests.
The fund cooperates with farm owners to develop sustainable methods for managing their land, WWF China said in an e-mailed response to questions.
The two sides aim to increase the amount of land that’s certified by the Forest Stewardship Council for following environmental and social responsibility standards, the WWF said.
Paper produced from such forests bear the council’s label.
Yesterday’s announcements by Apple and WWF came after Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), Apple’s largest supplier, told Bloomberg last month that it was in talks to raise about US$1.7 billion for a green fund that would support environmentally friendly projects in China.
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