China has never been characterized as a country that respects the environment a lot, however Apple wants at least its suppliers to change the type of energy they consume currently, coal, for renewable energy, as we reported a little over a year ago. Unlike China, Apple has always been committed to the environment and as proof of this we have the solar panel installations that the company has in California and the surrounding areas, which more than supply the facilities and data centers that the company has throughout the state.
The Cupertino-based company has released a press release reporting progress on environmental issues among the company's suppliers in China. As we can read, Lens Technology is the first supplier of the company that has made a 100% commitment to use renewable energy as of 2018, in which all the energy necessary to manufacture the crystals of Apple devices will come from sustainable and non-polluting energy sources.
Lens Technology used wind energy for the two plants that the company owns in Changsha, Hunan province that is exclusively dedicated to the manufacture of glass panels for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Currently the company emits 450.000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, which is equivalent to the energy used by 380.000 homes in the country.
Lens Technology will be the first vendor to comply with Apple's environmental plan and has reached an agreement with the different wind energy projects located near its factories. Lisa Jackson, in charge of environmental policy and social initiatives, congratulated Lens Technologies for its drastic change and expressed the hope that the rest of the company's suppliers will begin to take the first steps so that the only source of energy used is renewable.