Apple's 'Better' video kicks off company-wide commitment to the environment

As we approach Earth Day, Apple has put out information of how they are leading the charge towards caring for the evironment in the Environmental Responsibility section of their website. Starting off with a video above, narrated by CEO Tim Cook, Apple has revealed the various company-wide steps they have successfully taken to reduce their impact on the environment. Some examples of this are reducing the amount of packaging that goes into their products, having a new manufacturing facility that runs 100% on renewable energy, data centers that are powered by the sun and wind, and updated recycling program at Apple Retail Stores as well as eliminating toxins from products and processes.

More than just lip service, Apple has instilled a company-wide awareness and call to action for reducing environmental impact. "Better, it's in our DNA. better can't be better if it doesn't consider everything," says Tim Cook. "Our products, our values and an even stronger committment to environment for the future. To use greener materials, less packaging and do everything we can to keep our products out of landfills. Changes that benefit people as well as the planet."

Here are some other examples of Apple's focus on the environment.

They are the only company whose data centers are powered entirely by 100 percent renewable energy. Every time someone downloads a song from iTunes or asks Siri a question, the energy Apple uses is provided by sources like solar, wind, and geothermal energy. We’re now powering 94 percent of our global corporate facilities with renewable energy, up from only 35 percent in 2010.

Every Apple Retail Store in the world will now take back and recycle any unwanted Apple products, responsibly and for free. In the last 20 years, our recycling programs have diverted more than 421 million pounds of equipment from landfills.

Since 2008, Apple says they reduced the average power consumption of Apple products by 57 percent. Today’s iMac uses 0.9 watts of electricity in sleep mode — 97 percent less than the first iMac. We work hard to help you save energy — the cost to charge the battery of an iPhone 5s once a day in the U.S. is 51 cents per year.