At its Glowtime Event this week, Apple included a slew of messaging about its sustainability goals, notably that the Apple Watch Series 10 can be 100% carbon-neutral by selecting the right bands. Both the watch’s aluminum and titanium watch cases are carbon neutral, but only the Sport Loop band ($49), Braided Solo Loop ($99), and the Milanese Loop ($99) receive the same rating.
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Last year’s Apple Watch 9 could also be carbon neutral by selecting the right bands, but the two watch lineups are still Apple’s only products to earn the 100% neutrality rating. Apple announced its commitment to a carbon-neutral supply chain and product lineup back in 2020. However, we saw a handful of references to this “2030” number in the mentions of each product during the Glowtime event to increase awareness of its sustainability efforts.
Okay, so what exactly does this mean for the watch? Apple claims to ship 50% of watches and their components by non-air methods, aiming to reduce fossil fuel emissions in the process.
The materials for the watch cases are made of entirely recycled aluminum or 95% recycled titanium, and the bands mentioned above consist of more than 40% recycled content. Apple says that 100% of the energy used to manufacture the watch bands is covered by clean energy sources.
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Additionally, Apple says it’s purchasing enough renewable energy credits to offset the energy cost required to manufacture the product. This is the approach typically employed by large companies that claim carbon neutrality: buying enough credits from forestry projects or conservation organizations to plant enough trees to “balance out” the ecological cost of its production and shipment.
However, critics maintain that simply buying its way out of the problem is ultimately not a sustainable solution, and overarching changes to production and pollution-generating production practices are needed.
From the consumer’s perspective, these products are essentially the same price as last year’s, which suggests Apple isn’t offsetting the additional cost of sustainable practices onto the consumer — which would be a bad look but not necessarily an unexpected one.
This also applies to Apple’s trade-in deals for older versions of the iPhone, which incentivize consumers to turn in their old products to be resold (or recycled) instead of ending up in a dump.
The Apple Watch Series 10 might be the first carbon-neutral product, but Apple is making progress with others. In Apple’s Product Environmental Report on the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, it says the phone is made of 30% recycled or renewable materials overall, with over 30% of manufacturing electricity sourced from supplier low-carbon energy projects. Also, the packaging is now completely fiber-based and plastic-free.
Apple’s language continues to emphasize transparency, with its Environmental Progress Report breaking down the status of each of its sustainability goals, noting that the only one with an “Achieved” status is the carbon neutrality of its corporate operations arm.
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This is a start, but it’s still literally just a drop in the e-waste ocean that’s attributed to Apple alone. With an average of roughly 17 pounds of e-waste produced per person last year, the amount of electronic products like phones, computers, and gadgets that end up in landfills is hard to comprehend. Meanwhile, those numbers are only going to continue to rise as production continues full speed ahead with new devices.
Having a sustainability statement is par for the course for all technology manufacturers these days, and although they might not match the aesthetic of Apple’s, consumers need to be aware of their options when putting their money toward new products.
One thing both the consumer and producer should agree on is every little bit helps.
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