Apple Computer recently announced a major solar energy initiative in China, with a goal of getting to run its facilities on 100% renewable energy. Now Apple is dedicating resources to protecting China’s forests in a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund. WWF China CEO Lo Sze Ping says, “This collaboration between our two organizations will seek to reduce China’s ecological footprint by helping produce more wood from responsibly managed forests within its own borders.”
The goal is to protect a million acres of forest. Apple’s goal is to create equilibrium between the paper it uses to package its products and the paper that China’s forests can produce. Apple wants “to achieve a net-zero impact on the world’s supply of sustainable virgin fiber.” In other words, for every iPhone box, another iPhone box will grow in China. Interestingly, China isn’t just a supplier of Apple goods the way many Americans see it. China is Apple’s second biggest market.
