Apple today welcomed key manufacturing partners Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Murata Manufacturing as new investors in the Restore Fund, which is designed to scale global investment in high-quality, nature-based carbon removal while protecting critical ecosystems. Global semiconductor foundry TSMC will invest up to $50 million in a fund managed by Climate Asset Management, a joint venture between HSBC Asset Management and Pollination. Murata – an iPhone supplier based in Japan – will invest up to $30 million in the same fund. These new investments build on Apple’s previous commitment of up to $200 million for the second phase of the Restore Fund, bringing the total to $280 million in committed capital.
“When businesses invest in nature, they’re also investing in healthier communities, a more sustainable global economy and an important tool in the fight against climate change,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives. “The Recovery Fund is already delivering real benefits to communities and ecosystems in South America, while removing carbon from the atmosphere. And we’re excited to see suppliers join us by investing in nature in addition to their urgent work to decarbonize their businesses.”
High-quality investments in nature
To select the portfolio of projects in its first phase, Restore Fund carefully evaluated prospective managers and investments to ensure they meet sound environmental, social and governance criteria, as well as strict standards for quality, scalability and impact. Most potential investments are screened through this intensive due diligence process, which is detailed in a recent white paper on Apple’s decarbonization strategy.
All projects selected for the Restoration Fund undergo regular assessments to monitor forest change and growth over time, address fires and other potential risks, and check forest carbon stocks. As part of this analysis, Apple and partners—including Space Intelligence and Upstream Tech—used innovative tools like LiDAR on the iPhone, satellite data, bioacoustic monitoring, and machine learning to assess the earth’s well-being and project progress.
All projects in the first phase of the Restoration Fund share the common goal of creating new, responsibly managed working forests to help meet the growing global demand for timber and reduce pressure on natural forests. Projects will be managed by:
- Arbaro Advisorswhich is building a portfolio of forest projects in Latin America, including Apple’s first Reforestation Fund project in Paraguay, to develop sustainably managed eucalyptus farms while strengthening the livelihoods of local communities and protecting natural ecosystems in the project area.
- BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Groupwho works for restoration and protection of natural ecosystems on half of the project area, while the other half is planted with commercial species such as eucalyptus.
- Symbiosiswhich develops native seedlings to grow working forests of native tropical hardwoods while protecting natural forests in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.
These managers will ensure that all projects meet the strict standards of the Restore Fund.
TSMC and Murata are among more than 300 suppliers in Apple’s Supplier Clean Energy Program, having committed to achieving 100 percent renewable electricity for all Apple manufacturing by 2030. In 2022, Apple called on its suppliers to go further further and to decarbonize all of its Apple-related operations by the end of this decade. This includes addressing unavoidable residual emissions with high-quality carbon removal.
The fund, in which TSMC and Murata are investing alongside Apple, will combine regenerative agriculture projects with ecosystem conservation and restoration projects to generate both carbon and financial benefits. Projects are currently being selected.
The recovery fund is an important component of Apple 2030, the company’s ambitious goal to be carbon neutral across its entire value chain by the end of this decade. Apple is laser-focused on reducing its carbon footprint by 75 percent from 2015 levels through direct emissions reductions, and will address residual emissions with high-quality carbon removal. The company only retires credits from carbon projects where confirmed removals have already occurred, and only uses credits to address residual emissions that are difficult to avoid or reduce with today’s available solutions.
