Apple today announced that it is expanding its Restore Fund, which was first established in 2021. The Restore Fund is designed to pay for high-quality nature-based carbon removal projects to protect and restore "critical ecosystems." Apple also wants to help scale viable carbon removal solutions for businesses that are unable to avoid or reduce their carbon emissions through existing technology.
Apple is investing up to an additional $200 million in the Restore Fund, doubling its initial $200 million commitment. The fund will be managed by Climate Asset Management, a joint venture of HSBC Asset Management and Pollination.
With the new investment, Apple is aiming to remove one million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year while also generating a financial return for investors. Apple suppliers that become part of the fund will be able to take advantage of new high-impact carbon removal projects.
"The Restore Fund is an innovative investment approach that generates real, measurable benefits for the planet, while aiming to generate a financial return," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. "The path to a carbon neutral economy requires deep decarbonization paired with responsible carbon removal, and innovation like this can help accelerate the pace of progress."
Climate Asset Management and Apple want to focus on nature-forward agricultural projects that generate income from sustainably managed farming practices as well as projects that conserve and restore critical ecosystems that remove and store carbon from the atmosphere. Apple says that Restore Fund investments will be subject to "rigorous social and environmental standards."
Apple has achieved carbon neutrality for its corporate operations, and it has encouraged its suppliers to become carbon neutral by 2030. Apple ultimately wants all Apple-related operations to be carbon neutral by that date, and more than 250 of its manufacturing partners have committed to that goal.
Apple's earlier investments in the Restore Fund were done in partnership with Conservation International and Goldman Sachs. With that contribution, Apple is working to restore 150,000 acres of sustainably certified working forests and protect another 100,000 acres of native forests, grasslands, and wetlands. These projects are forecast to remove one million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per year by 2025.
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