{"id":8602,"date":"2015-02-17T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-17T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/architizer.wpengine.com\/green-machine-apple\/"},"modified":"2022-05-31T11:51:40","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T15:51:40","slug":"green-machine-apple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/green-machine-apple\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Machine: How Do Apple\u2019s Environmental Credentials Stack Up?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love ’em or hate ’em, there is no denying that Apple is a true technological Goliath, the likes of which the world has never seen before. According to Forbes<\/i><\/a>, Apple is currently the 15th<\/sup> largest company on earth, and comfortably the most valuable, with an estimated worth of $483 billion. It comes as no surprise, then, that their approach to energy efficiency and sustainability comes under more scrutiny than any other organization \u2014 when even the slightest change to your environmental policy makes headlines, it is even more crucial to get things right.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, last week\u2019s announcement by Apple made for encouraging reading for the company\u2019s many shareholders. CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple will invest almost $850 million<\/a> over the next 25 years in solar energy, hooking up their colossal new Cupertino headquarters to a vast, 1,300-acre solar farm in Monterey County. The energy produced there will also cover much of Apple\u2019s other power needs across the state, including a huge data center in Newark and a grand total of 52 Apple stores throughout California.<\/p>\n

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Via Climate Central<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

The news was greeted by notable positivity from Greenpeace, home to the world\u2019s most (in)famous environmental activists: they released a statement<\/a> waxing lyrical about the company\u2019s eco strategy, even going as far as to lionize Apple\u2019s CEO as a role model for his approach to green initiatives:<\/p>\n

“Apple still has work to do to reduce its environmental footprint, but other Fortune 500 CEOs would be well served to make a study of Tim Cook, whose actions show that he intends to take Apple full-speed ahead toward renewable energy with the urgency that our climate crisis demands.”<\/p>\n

This compliment marks a quite extraordinary turn-around for Apple in the eyes of Greenpeace. Only four years ago, the company was named the \u201cleast green<\/a>\u201d technology company by the same organization, which lambasted their use of energy-hungry data centers across the world. Gary Cook, Greenpeace\u2019s IT policy analyst and the author of the report, emphasized the changing priorities of the public: “Consumers want to know that when they upload a video or change their Facebook status that they are not contributing to global warming or future Fukushimas.”<\/p>\n

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Rendering of Apple’s new headquarters. Image via Concrete Aspirations<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

While this hyperbole smacks of scaremongering in the extreme (\u201cfuture Fukushimas”? Really?), it indicates that although Apple has not always been at the pinnacle of eco-friendly design, it has been gaining ground on this front at a rapid pace in recent years. Between 2010 and 2013, the company achieved a 169% increase in the use of renewable energy at Apple corporate facilities worldwide \u2014 their offices now run on 94% renewable power.<\/p>\n

The approach to environmental impact in the design of their glittering, donut-shaped headquarters appears to form the next logical step along this strategic path. As well as buying into one of the most epic solar farms in the United States, Apple also tasked British superstar architect Sir Norman Foster with concocting a supremely energy-efficient system for the campus itself.<\/p>\n

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Fa\u00e7ade section detail. Via Maximac<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

This culminated in a building envelope packed with high-tech features designed to reduce energy consumption. Air can flow freely between the interior and exterior of the sweeping circular structure, allegedly providing natural ventilation for 75% of the year. An enormous onsite solar array will cover the roof of the campus, which \u2014 combined with the energy provided by the Monterey facility \u2014 means that the campus will be powered by 100% renewable energy sources.<\/p>\n

Beyond the building, the vast courtyard and surrounding parkland will be planted with \u201cdrought-tolerant\u201d plants to minimize water use. Transport has been considered too: Apple is expanding their program of biofuel buses for commuters, and over 1,000 shared bicycles will be made available at the campus \u2014 not to mention 300 charging stations for electric vehicles.<\/p>\n