Apple's operations in China are now 'carbon neutral'

Apple's operations in China are now "carbon neutral," the company said in a statement on Thursday.

This means that thanks to its environmental efforts, it has zero net carbon emissions in the country that could contribute to climate change.

Carbon neutral also isn't the same thing as using only renewable energy sources, or not making any carbon emissions - it just means you offset carbon emissions with renewable efforts. Longterm, Apple says its goal is to to "power all its operations worldwide on 100 percent renewable energy."

For now, it has completed work on a 40 megawatts of solar projects in the Sichan Province - which it says "produce[s] more than the total amount of electricity used by Apple's offices and retail stores in China, making Apple's operations carbon neutral in China."

Of course, Apple doesn't build all of its products in-house. It has numerous suppliers across the world, including in China. These suppliers aren't yet carbon neutral - much less powering their operations directly and only using renewable energy.

The Cupertino company is attempting to address this, announcing in a press release two new programs "aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of its manufacturing partners in China."

These programs are:

• One - investing more in clean-energy projects in China, and;
• Two - encouraging its partners and suppliers to become more energy efficient.

Apple says that as a result, "the programs will avoid over 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution in the country between now and 2020, equivalent to taking nearly 4 million passenger vehicles off the road for one year."

China's rapid economic growth has brought with it serious environmental issues. Regulation is laxer, with adverse consequences: One study claims that 4,000 people die in the country every day as a result of air pollution. In 2013, the government admitted that unchecked pollution has caused "cancer villages" plagued by severe health issues.

The country is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.

In a statement, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that "climate change is one of the great challenges of our time, and the time for action is now ... The transition to a new green economy requires innovation, ambition and purpose. We believe passionately in leaving the world better than we found it and hope that many other suppliers, partners and other companies join us in this important effort."

Apple is one of a number of tech companies who say that they're attempting to power their operations using 100% renewable energy. Google, Amazon, and Facebook have also pledged to do so - but none have set a deadline to reach that point.