Apple today announced that suppliers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Japanese company Murata Manufacturing are investing in its Restore Fund, a program aimed at scaling investments in high-quality nature-based carbon removal while also protecting critical ecosystems.
TSMC is investing up to $50 million and Murata is investing up to $30 million, with the money managed by Climate Asset Management. Apple established the Restore Fund in 2021 with a $200 million donation, and expanded it in 2023 with another $200 million.
Apple is using some of the money to support the creation of sustainably certified working forests on degraded pasture and agricultural lands in South America. The project is meant to meet increasing global demand for timber while reducing pressure on natural forests.
Two of the partners that Apple is working on the forests have planted eucalyptus, an ideal tree for sustainable forests because of its fast growth rate, ability to restore degraded land, and lower water consumption than other kinds of trees.
Apple's third partner is developing sustainable forests of tropical hardwoods native to Brazil's Atlantic Forest, with some of the land also going toward restoring tree species that are nearing extinction. The Restore Fund will be used for other projects that focus on ecosystem conservation and restoration, with selection underway. Apple set a goal of removing 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the air by 2025, which it is on track to exceed.
Apple wants to be carbon neutral across its entire supply chain by 2030. More than 300 suppliers have signed up for the Supplier Clean Energy Program that commits them to achieving 100 percent renewable energy for all Apple production by the end of the decade, and Apple has also asked its partners to decarbonize their Apple-related operations.
