Apple, In Annual Green Update, Says Data Centers Powered 100% By Renewable Energy

Apple said today that its now using "clean, 100 percent renewable energy" at all its data centers.

"We’re currently on track toward achieving an ambitious goal: to power every Apple facility entirely with energy from renewable sources — solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal. We’ve already reached this milestone at all of our data centers that provide online services to our customers, including in Maiden, North Carolina. We’ve also reached 100 percent at our facilities in Austin, Cork, and Munich and at our Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino," the company said in its annual environmental impact report, which is posted on its web site.  "Among all Apple corporate facilities worldwide, 75 percent of the total energy used comes from renewable sources — a 114 percent increase since 2010."

Apple has come under fire in the past from environmental groups including Greenpeace, who say one of the world's most valuable companies can do more with renewable energy and that it had not been as forthright in its disclosure about the efforts it was making to make the company a greener business. Former CEO Steve Jobs penned an open letter in 2007, voicing his commitment to provide ongoing updates on the company's progress.

Greenpeace, which ranked the company almost last in a report last year asking "How Clean is Your Cloud?"  today said Apple has made "real progress."

“Apple’s announcement shows that it has made real progress in its commitment to lead the way to a clean energy future. Apple’s increased level of disclosure about its energy sources helps customers know that their iCloud will be powered by clean energy sources, not coal," Greenpeace senior IT analyst Gary Cook said in a statement. "As it keeps growing the cloud, Apple still has major roadblocks to meeting its 100 % clean energy commitment in North Carolina, where renewable energy policies are under siege and electric utility Duke Energy is intent on blocking wind and solar energy from entering the grid.

Greenpeace said it would like to see Apple "disclose more details about how it will push utilities and state governments to help it achieve its ambitious goal in all of its data center locations.”

"Over the past four years we've reported more comprehensively than any company in our industry," Scott Brodrick, Apple's senior director of product marketing, said in an interview with CNET. "We've done this by focusing not only on our facilities, which is what many other companies do, but also on our products."

Apple pointed to some of the progress it made in 2012, including:

• Cupertino retrofit. Apple said it is using a biogas-powered fuel cell and built rooftop solar photovoltaic systems at its California headquarters. It also cut overall energy use at the site by "over 30 percent at a time when occupancy increased by more than 12 percent."

• New iMac. The redesigned iMac uses 68 percent less material and generates 67 percent fewer carbon emissions than earlier models, Apple said. The iMac's aluminum stand is made using 30 percent recycled content.

• Employee commuting programs. The company said that more than 13,000 employees participated in its Commute Alternatives program — a 30 percent increase year over year — and got to work "using transit options that have reduced traffic, smog, and CO₂e emissions associated with the use of single-occupancy vehicles. This includes more than 1,600 Cupertino based Apple employees who ride to work daily on free biodiesel commuter coaches and shuttles. Employees in Cupertino also helped prevent more than 102,500 kg of CO₂e emissions by using electric vehicle charging stations, and they took more than 50,000 trips on Apple’s shared bicycles in 2012."