Apple now ships 70% more with smaller packaging

When Apple last year announced that it will be removing chargers from iPhone and Apple Watch packaging citing environmental benefits, people have been speculating different reasons behind the US tech giant’s decision.

Despite criticism en-masse from experts and consumers, Apple continued with their decision to remove the power adapter from the iPhone and Apple Watch packaging, as it has reaped a “positive impact on the environment”, according to the company statement.

According to Apple's official website dedicated to its eco-friendly initiatives, the company has stated that it was able to save approximately 8,61,000 metric tonnes of "certain materials" such as plastic, copper, tin and zinc. Additionally, the packaging got even smaller owing to the removal of power adapters and thereby allowing the company to ship 70% more boxes per pallet.

The website also notes its three-fold strategy to tackle eco-problems including climate change, resources and smarter chemistry.

While citing the reason over the removal of power adapters from boxes, the company explained, "Since removing them from iPhone and Apple Watch packaging last year, we've avoided mining a significant amount of materials from the earth, and we've eliminated the emissions that come from processing and transporting them."

The company also mentioned that leaving out power adapters was a bold change and a necessary one for the planet. It further added that it has been making products with "more recycled materials" and working to reduce the amount of energy these devices use.

The Apple Environmental Report 2021, obtained by Mashable India noted that by switching to recycled and hydro-smelted aluminium, its carbon emissions associated with aluminium have decreased by 72%. Moreover, it notes that some of the cloud-based and AI services such as iCloud, Siri and iMessage are running completely on sustainable energy.

As per report, earlier in July 2020, Apple had unveiled its plan to become carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030. It essentially aims to use only recycled goods for manufacturing products and use renewable-source of energy at plants and other centres.