Apple, the iconic creator of iPhones and iPads, has invested in setting up more than 14 MW of rooftop solar capacities across its six industrial sites in India through Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions.

The consumer electronics giant aims to become carbon neutral across its entire value chain by the end of this decade. More than 18 GW of clean electricity now powers Apple’s global operations and manufacturing supply chain, which is more than triple the amount in 2020.

As part of the partnership in India, Clean Max has successfully installed 14.4 MW of rooftop solar installations, which is expected to mitigate around 207,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions throughout their operational life, the renewable energy provider to commercial and industrial (C&I) segment said on Wednesday.

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The collaboration is grounded in an innovative business model, where the environmental benefits accruing from the financed projects will assist Apple in addressing the emissions associated with its corporate operations in India, it added.

In a statement on Wednesday, Apple said: “To address its growing corporate operations in India, Apple has also embarked on a joint venture with leading renewable developer CleanMax to invest in a portfolio of six rooftop solar projects with a total size of 14.4 MW.“

The added capacity provides a local solution to power Apple’s offices, its two retail stores in the country, and other operations in India. Apple first achieved 100 per cent renewable energy for its global corporate operations in 2018, it added.

Electricity, both for manufacturing products and to charge and power them, accounts for the largest portion of Apple’s carbon footprint. As part of Apple 2030, the company has called on its global suppliers to use clean electricity and become carbon neutral across all their Apple-related operations.

Over 320 suppliers — representing 95 per cent of Apple’s direct manufacturing spend — have led the way in the transition so far, resulting in 16.5 GW of renewable energy online in Apple’s supply chain today. This generated over 25.5 million megawatt-hours of clean energy across the supply chain last year, avoiding over 18.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions.

CleanMax Managing Director Kuldeep Jain said: “Our mission is to be a sustainability partner to corporates, and we consider this JV to be a big milestone in our journey. It showcases an industry-leading approach to the creation of green energy assets. The growing interest from other consumer brands in such joint ventures is a positive sign of the shift towards sustainability.”

Environmental challenges

The collaboration between Apple and CleanMax symbolises the importance of cross-sector partnerships aimed at addressing critical environmental challenges, he added.

With 2 GW of renewable operating portfolio, CleanMax develops projects on a turnkey basis, providing power on a per kWh basis, under long-term Power Purchase Agreements.

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