Climate Lobbying Overview: Apple appears highly supportive and generally active on climate policy, primarily in the US as well as countries along its supply chain in Asia. It is a member of several industry associations actively engaging on climate, such as Advanced Energy Limited (formerly Advanced Energy Economy) which holds highly positive positions, as well as the Business Roundtable, where Apple CEO Tim Cook serves on the Board and which holds more mixed positions.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Apple has positive top-line messaging on climate change. The company’s 2022 Environmental Progress report clearly outlines the company’s support for global emissions reductions in line with reducing global temperature rise to 1.5C. The report also states support for an increase in government ambition on climate, stating that “government policies and rules can present some of the largest barriers to transitioning to renewables” and noting the need for various policies such as a price on carbon and sector-specific regulations to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Apple also clearly supports the Paris Agreement, as evident in joint letter with the We Mean Business Coalition in April 2021 thanking the Biden administration for rejoining the agreement. In October 2022, Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted the company's efforts to pressure its suppliers to become carbon neutral by 2030 in line with the company’s own objectives.

Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, Lisa Jackson, has been particularly outspoken on the need for climate policy. On twitter in September 2021, Lisa Jackson advocated for strong government policies to respond to climate change, including a federal Clean Energy Standard. The tweet does not refer explicitly to the climate provisions in the Build Back Better Act, although Apple’s Q4 2021 federal lobbying disclosure reports engagement on the clean energy provisions in the bill without stating a position.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Apple appears to engage positively on specific climate policies, though with less active engagement in recent years. However, in January 2022, Apple and other technology companies filed a joint amicus brief in support of the EPA's right to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, following West Virginia's case against the EPA. In November 2022, as reported by the Wind Energy and Electric Vehicle Magazine, Apple co-founded the Asia Clean Energy Coalition to strategically improve the policy and regulatory environments for clean energy in Asia. In its 2022 Environmental Progress report, Apple highlighted its advocacy for renewable energy policy in Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. Recent activity in the EU has been limited: previously, Apple signed a 2020 sign-on letter through the European Corporate Leaders Group urging the EU to increase its emissions reduction target to 55% by 2030.

Positioning on Energy Transition: In general, Apple communicates clear support for a global clean energy transition. In its 2022 Environmental Progress Report, it explicitly notes the need for fossil fuel phasedown alongside clean energy scale-up and advocates for the removal of fossil fuel subsidies toward this aim. The company did not publicly endorse the US Inflation Reduction Act or its climate provisions. However, it advocated to congress in a joint letter in July 2021 for a federal Clean Energy Standard to achieve 100% clean energy for the power sector by 2035. Lisa Jackson reiterated Apple’s support for a federal clean energy standard on twitter in September 2021 during the debate around the Build Back Better Act.

Apple has been somewhat active at the state level in appealing to regulators to push utilities to decarbonize. Most recently, in December 2022, Apple joined several other companies in a comment to regulators in North Carolina advocating to raise the ambition of Duke Energy's carbon plan. In May 2021, Bloomberg reported on Apple's pushback against the buildout of new gas plants by Duke Energy, and in in 2020, the company signed a letter to Dominion Energy pushing the utility to invest in renewables and battery storage rather than natural gas expansion.

Industry Association Governance: Apple is a member of Advanced Energy United (formerly Advanced Energy Economy), which has engaged positively on all forms of climate policy in the US, and the Japan Climate Leaders Partnership. In 2009, Apple renounced its membership with the US Chamber of Commerce in response to the association’s comments against the US EPA. Conversely, Apple retains its membership with Business Europe and the Japanese Business Federation, two organizations which have largely opposed climate action in their respective jurisdictions. It also a Board Member of the US Business Roundtable, with CEO Tim Cook chairing the committee in Immigration.