On World Water Day, Apple and the Alliance for Water Stewardship are touting their long-term commitment to their work together. Apple and the alliance will continue to invest in Chinese industries and all around the world, according to a post in Apple’s newsroom.
In the past year, the number of Apple’s supply chain partners that received certifications from the Alliance for Water Stewardship increased from 5 to 13.
The Alliance for Water Stewardship is a global organization dedicated to promoting cooperation between businesses, governments, and nonprofit organizations to encourage the adoption of common system standards for sustainable water use.
The organization certifies Apple’s supply chains through a comprehensive assessment by an independent auditor to confirm whether they meet the alliance’s standards for responsible water management.
In 2018, the partnership between Apple and the alliance reached an important milestone: Chunhua Technology, an Apple flexible circuit board supplier located in Kunshan, became the first company in the electronics industry to obtain the alliance gold level certification.
“We are very pleased to see more and more Apple supply chain companies participating in our certification program, which demonstrates the impact and strength of our cooperation with Apple to promote first-class water management,” said Xu Shenzhen, Asia-Pacific Project Director of the Alliance for Water Stewardship. “True water management requires collaboration and leadership. Apple continues to raise the standards for itself and supply chain companies, setting an example for the entire industry.”
Since then, the partnership has led to another public-private partnership in Kunshan waters: The alliance works with Apple supply chain companies, local government officials, and the WWF China representative office to promote the progress of water resources management in the region.
The partnership between Apple and the Alliance for Water Stewardship is based on Apple’s “Clean Water Project,” which planned to save a total of 156.3 million cubic meters of freshwater resources in 2020, and it’s part of Apple’s goal to achieve 100% carbon neutrality throughout the supply chain and product life cycle by 2030.
