CNET reports that Apple has reaffirmed its commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change with Lisa Jackson, Apple’s head of environment, policy and social initiatives, told an arena full of tech leaders telling the Web Summit in Lisbon that the tech giant can continue to profit while being environmentally responsible.
“The air we breathe and the planet we leave to our children doesn’t belong to any one party, it doesn’t belong to any one ideology — it belongs to all of us, and governments should be the allies in our work,” she told an arena full of tech leaders. “At Apple we supported and we continue to support the Paris climate agreement.”
CEO Tim Cook issued an internal email to Apple employees on June 1, 2017, saying that corporate environmental efforts will continue even though a personal appeal to President Donald Trump failed to stop him from pulling the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement. In the email, he had this to say:
“I know many of you share my disappointment with the White House’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement. I spoke with President Trump on Tuesday and tried to persuade him to keep the U.S. in the agreement. But it wasn’t enough.
“Climate change is real and we all share a responsibility to fight it. I want to reassure you that today’s developments will have no impact on Apple’s efforts to protect the environment. We power nearly all of our operations with renewable energy, which we believe is an example of something that’s good for our planet and makes good business sense as well.
“We will keep working toward the ambitious goals of a closed-loop supply chain, and to eventually stop mining new materials altogether. Of course, we’re going to keep working with our suppliers to help them do more to power their businesses with clean energy. And we will keep challenging ourselves to do even more. “Knowing the good work that we and countless others around the world are doing, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about our planet’s future.
“Our mission has always been to leave the world better than we found it. We will never waver, because we know that future generations depend on us.
“Your work is as important today as it has ever been. Thank you for your commitment to making a difference every single day.”
