Apple's environmental program entered 2025 with real numbers, not just slogans. The company reports a >60% cut in global greenhouse gas emissions versus 2015, expanded clean-power procurement across its supply chain, and near-completion of its pledge to remove plastics from product packaging. Below is a clear look at what changed in 2025—and what to watch next as Apple sprints toward its 2030 goals.
2025 at a glance
- Emissions: Apple says it has now surpassed a 60% reduction in total emissions from the 2015 baseline, on the path to Apple 2030.
- Materials: Progress toward 100% recycled rare earths in all magnets and 100% recycled cobalt in Apple-designed batteries—reported as ~99% of the way there early in 2025.
- Clean energy: Suppliers brought 17.8 GW of renewable electricity online, avoiding tens of millions of metric tons of CO₂e; efficiency efforts avoided millions more.
- Water & waste: Since 2013, Apple and suppliers have saved 90+ billion gallons of freshwater; Zero Waste programs diverted hundreds of thousands of metric tons from landfill.
Packaging: closing in on plastic-free
Apple's public commitment is to remove plastics from packaging by the end of 2025. As of this year, more than 98% of packaging is fiber-based, with the remaining boundary explicitly excluding inks, coatings, and adhesives. Recent devices ship in 100% fiber-based boxes under those definitions—evidence of how close the goal line is. The transition away from Apple plastic wrap and Apple plastic packaging represents a significant shift toward Apple sustainable packaging that prioritizes recyclable materials and eco friendly packaging solutions.
Why it matters: packaging changes cut plastic pollution upstream and simplify end-of-life recycling for customers, since fiber boxes are widely accepted in curbside programs. Apple packaging recyclable initiatives now include molded pulp packaging and pulp molding packaging technologies that utilize bagasse and bamboo fiber as sustainable alternatives. Molded pulp insert components protect devices while maintaining the commitment to renewable, biodegradable materials. Apple has been telegraphing this shift for years—rolling out entirely fiber-based boxes for some Apple Watch configurations and pushing iPhone packaging past 99% fiber.
Cleaner manufacturing: semiconductors, displays, and gigawatts
Manufacturing is the biggest chunk of device-level emissions. In 2025, Apple emphasized two levers: electricity and industrial gases. On electricity, suppliers added gigawatts of renewables to support operations. On gases, direct semiconductor suppliers—and all direct display suppliers—have pledged to abate ≥90% of the super-potent fluorinated gases used in chip and display production. Both moves attack emissions intensity where it counts.
Recycled and low-carbon materials, scaled
Material swaps are increasingly visible in final products. Apple highlighted MacBook made with more than half recycled content overall—its highest share yet—and reiterated the near-completion of 2025 targets for recycled rare earths and cobalt across magnets and Apple-designed batteries.
Beyond reduction: the Restore Fund and nature-based carbon removal
Alongside cutting emissions, Apple is financing high-quality carbon removal through its expanded Restore Fund. In 2025 the company announced investments to protect and restore California redwood forest, while noting the fund now backs conservation and regenerative-agriculture projects across multiple continents—aiming to remove millions of metric tons of CO₂ annually by 2030.
Water, waste, and circularity
Apple's Supplier Clean Water Program continues to scale reuse and efficiency, while the Zero Waste program keeps materials out of landfills with process tweaks like reusable trays and recyclable protective films in manufacturing. These are the unglamorous, compounding wins that make product-level footprints smaller year by year.
Reality check: climate claims under scrutiny
Sustainability marketing is under a hotter spotlight worldwide. In 2025, regulators and courts in key markets scrutinized "carbon neutral" product claims, challenging the basis of offsets and the durability of removals. Expect more rigorous standards and audits for corporate climate claims across the industry.
What to watch next (2026–2030)
- Packaging, post-plastics: With plastics removed from boxes, attention shifts to reducing coatings/adhesives and pushing recycled fiber content even higher across accessories and service parts. Innovations in molded pulp packaging and pulp molding packaging using bagasse and bamboo fiber will continue to advance eco friendly packaging standards. The evolution of molded pulp insert designs will ensure Apple packaging recyclable goals extend throughout the entire product line.
- Customer-use electricity: Apple plans to match 100% of customers' electricity use for Apple products with clean power—a big systems-level lever beyond the factory gate.
- Process-gas abatement: Watch for third-party-verified results on ≥90% F-GHG abatement commitments from chip and display suppliers as 2030 approaches.
- Restore Fund outcomes: More detail on verified removals, permanence, and biodiversity co-benefits will help separate durable climate action from accounting.
Bottom line
In 2025, Apple's environmental story is less about new promises and more about execution at scale: cleaner supplier energy, tangible packaging redesigns, and measurable progress on recycled inputs. The complete elimination of Apple plastic packaging in favor of Apple sustainable packaging built from recyclable materials demonstrates the viability of eco friendly packaging at massive scale. There's still hard work left—especially on industrial gases and the credibility of carbon-neutral claims—but the direction of travel is clear, and the milestones are getting harder to dismiss.
References:
Apple surpasses 60 percent reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions
Apple Environmental Progress Report 2025 (PDF)
Environment – Answers: Plastics and packaging
Apple launches new project to protect and restore California redwood forest
