Apple marked its 40 years of doing business in Australia by announcing new initiatives to protect the environment and create opportunities for communities in the country. The Cupertino-based tech giant earmarked various projects covering renewable energy, education, and partnership with relevant organizations.
Apple Marks 40 Years in Australia
In a press release posted on its Australian website, Apple enumerated various projects that include developing new sources of renewable energy. It also earmarked the expansion of coding education programs and partnerships with Indigenous-led nonprofits that advance equity and opportunity. Apple CEO Tim Cook said:
We’re proud to celebrate Apple’s long history in Australia and to deepen our shared commitment to protecting the planet and creating opportunity in people’s lives. We’re fortunate to have so many great partners, colleagues, and customers across this country, and we’ll continue working together to make the world a more equitable and just place for all.
Apple’s 2023 Climate Goal
To push its 2023 climate goal, Apple embarked on new renewable energy projects in the country. It has purchased a new wind farm in Queensland to help address the energy customers use to power and enjoy their Apple products. Apple aims to achieve carbon neutrality across its entire business, manufacturing, supply chain, and product life cycle by 2023. The renewable energy projects in Australia aim to accelerate the company’s progress towards achieving this goal.
Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, pointed out that Apple recognizes the
urgent need to address the climate crisis, and we’re accelerating our global work to ensure our products have a net-zero climate footprint across their entire life cycle. We are proud to play a part in Australia’s transition to a cleaner energy grid, and thrilled that Apple will soon support Australian customers’ use of their favourite products with clean energy.
Apple Expands Partnership with Leading Australian Universities
In addition to its renewable energy projects in Australia, Apple also announced its expanded partnership with two leading universities in Australia. Apple teamed up with RMIT University in Melbourne to launch courses that use Apple’s Develop in Swift curriculum. This teaches students to use Apple’s Swift coding language to design and build apps.
Apple also launched two new Apple Foundation Programs in collaboration with RMIT and the University of Technology Sydney. The program aims to provide four-week courses on the fundamentals of app development using Swift.
Apple Supports Australia’s Indigenous Communities
Finally, Apple is also committed to expanding its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI) to Australia. It will fund initiatives and community nonprofits that serve Indigenous communities. Apple has launched an Impact Accelerator to support equity and opportunity in the environment sector and provide venture capital funding for entrepreneurs of color. It has also supported nonprofits that advocate criminal and environmental justice.