Apple is supporting the climate change agenda by taking action against global warming. CEO Tim Cook told business executives and political leaders on Monday that the goal of Apple's new headquarters is to make it the most environmentally friendly campus.
During the Climate Week NYC conference, Cook announced that its headquarters will have 7,000 trees, underground parking, and one of the largest onsite corporate solar energy installations in the world.
We're building a new headquarters that I think will be the greenest building on the planet," said Cook. "It'll be a center for innovation, and it's something clearly our employees want and we want."
Over 14,000 employees, which is five times the number of Apple's current Cupertino headquartered staff, will enjoy the 2.8 million square foot green campus. The headquarters are currently in construction, expected to be finished in 2016.
Apple is also committed to continue improving conditions and advocating human rights for Chinese workers and making environmental practices greener for its supply chain, which has been "dirty" and "detailed" work.
"We're now turning our attention to the supply chain in a major way," Cook said. "It's not esoteric and theory, it's real work and projects."
Apple hired former EPA administrator Lisa Jackson as VP of environmental initiatives last year after criticism concerning its Chinese factories' carbon footprint was brought to light. In 2012, NGO Greenpeace gave the company a 4.5 out of 10 score for its failure to address its use of the toxic element beryllium. Samsung received a 4.2.
In 2014, Apple was praised for being "currently one of the only companies to publicly disclose the carbon footprint of all its products."
The conversation was one of Apple's most detailed to date, as Cook said the company considers global warming a "core value." Cook said eliminating toxins is one of the issues that matter deeply to the company.
In 2013, Apple set the goal of making all its data centers use renewable energy sources. They are now the largest private owner of solar farms in the U.S. Apple's facilities currently use 94 percent renewable energy.
"We know that we will not make enough of a difference if we only solve our little piece of the world," Cook said. "We need to be one of the pebbles in the pond that creates the ripple."
Sponsored by the nonprofit organization The Climate Group, Cook spoke the day after a history-making climate march in the streets of New York City. More than 125 world leaders gathered on Tuesday to discuss global warming at the U.N. Climate Summit.
