Apple’s AI ambitions threaten 2030 carbon neutrality goal

Apple is facing mounting challenges in meeting its 2030 carbon neutrality goal as AI ambitions collide with climate commitments, with iPhone emissions progress stalling since 2022 despite earlier gains. The tech giant’s push into artificial intelligence through Apple Intelligence is creating new energy demands while supplier compliance issues and global manufacturing shifts further complicate its environmental targets.

The emissions reality: iPhone carbon footprints have plateaued after initial progress, revealing the tension between innovation and sustainability.

• The iPhone 12 Pro started at 82 kilograms CO2E in 2020, dropped sharply to 69 kilograms for the iPhone 13 Pro, but then stalled completely with the iPhone 15 and 16 Pro models maintaining similar emission levels.
• Apple changed its reporting methodology to compare against a 2015 baseline rather than year-over-year improvements, making recent progress harder to track.
• Most environmental gains occurred between 2020 and 2022, coinciding with Apple’s Supplier Clean Energy Program implementation.

Supply chain struggles: Key manufacturing partners are falling behind on renewable energy commitments across Apple’s expanding global footprint.

• Of Apple’s five major assembly suppliers, only Wistron has committed to 100% renewable energy by 2030, while Pegatron aims for just 50% and Foxconn won’t reach 100% until 2040.
• In India, where Apple is shifting production due to tariff concerns, supplier renewable energy adoption is particularly poor—Pegatron used zero renewable energy there as of 2023, while Flex managed only 27%.
• Apple’s $400 million Clean Energy Funds face implementation challenges, with suppliers complaining about insufficient incentives to initiate renewable projects.

The AI energy dilemma: Apple Intelligence creates a “vicious cycle” where AI efficiency improvements enable more AI usage, driving higher overall energy consumption.

• Apple’s on-device AI approach through Private Cloud Compute runs on 100% renewable energy at Apple data centers, but the company operates only 16 facilities compared to Microsoft’s 120+ and Amazon’s 200+.
• Manufacturing AI-capable chips like the A18 and A18 Pro requires energy-intensive processes, with key supplier TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) reporting a 19% increase in greenhouse gas emissions per product unit versus its 10% reduction target.
• The partnership with ChatGPT for certain Siri functions falls outside Apple’s renewable-powered Private Cloud Compute infrastructure.

What the experts are saying: Environmental advocates point to specific areas where Apple could strengthen its climate efforts.

• “We need suppliers to take more initiative, and we need stronger enforcement from Apple,” said Lena Chang, climate and energy program director at Greenpeace East Asia.
• “AI is hugely costly when it comes to energy usage and water,” noted Jan Stryjak of Counterpoint Research, describing the efficiency paradox facing tech companies.

The bigger context: Apple’s challenges reflect industry-wide struggles as major tech companies prioritize AI development over climate commitments.

• Google’s total greenhouse gas emissions increased 48% between 2019 and 2023, leading the company to drop its carbon neutrality pledge.
• Microsoft’s emissions rose 23% from 2020 to 2024 due to AI and cloud expansion, while Amazon’s shipping emissions continue climbing.
• The contrast is stark with companies like Fairphone, whose Fairphone 5 achieved just 42 kilograms of lifecycle emissions compared to Apple’s 70+ kilogram iPhone models.

Looking ahead: With AI development accelerating and hardware refresh cycles potentially speeding up, Apple faces intensifying pressure to balance innovation with environmental goals in its final push toward 2030 carbon neutrality.