Apple Inc. has committed to a deadline of 2025 for using 100% recycled cobalt in its batteries, a goal first disclosed in April 2021. That target forms part of a larger corporate ambition to make all of the company’s products carbon neutral by 2030.
Apple also aims for 100% recycled rare earth elements and tin across its entire product lineup. The company, founded in a garage in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, was incorporated the following year as Apple Computer, Inc. and later adopted its current name in 2007, signaling a shift from personal computers to a broad range of consumer electronics including the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, at the heart of Silicon Valley, Apple is regarded as one of the Big Tech companies whose decisions shape global consumer habits and supply chain practices.
Its products are used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, giving the firm significant influence over manufacturing standards.
Progress and Technology Behind the Targets
The numbers show a measured but clear trajectory toward those environmental pledges. In 2022, Apple reported that 20% of all materials shipped in its products came from recycled sources, up from 13% in 2021.
Central to this effort is the company’s recycling robot, Daisy, which can disassemble 200 iPhones per hour. Daisy recovers materials such as cobalt and lithium from old devices, feeding them back into production. In 2022 alone, Apple recycled 15 million iPhones through its program.
The 2025 target for recycled cobalt is particularly ambitious because batteries are the single most cobalt-intensive component in most Apple products. Sourcing that metal entirely from recycled material would reduce demand for newly mined cobalt and lower the environmental cost of each new device.
Corporate Investment and a Broader Movement
Apple has put serious financial weight behind these ambitions. Since 2016, the company has invested $4.7 billion in green bonds to fund recycling and renewable energy projects.
That investment is not happening in isolation. The global corporate recycling market was valued at $200 billion in 2022, according to Grand View Research. A wave of similar pledges from other large U.S. corporations is driving real capital into the sector.
Microsoft committed in 2020 to becoming carbon negative by 2030, a target widely seen as the most aggressive among major technology companies. Amazon launched the Climate Pledge in 2019, aiming for net-zero carbon by 2040.
Walmart announced in 2021 a goal to achieve zero emissions across its global operations by 2040. These corporate promises have spurred investment in recycling technology and renewable energy, signaling that sustainability is no longer a fringe concern but a central operational priority for some of the largest companies in the United States. The 2030 carbon-neutral deadline for all Apple products looms even larger than the 2025 cobalt target.
Walmart’s 2040 zero-emissions goal and Amazon’s 2040 net-zero objective suggest the broader corporate world is moving in the same direction. Apple’s $4.7 billion in green bonds is a signal that the company intends to be a major player in the growing $200 billion recycling market.
For consumers, the implications are tangible. Batteries are among the most resource-intensive components in modern electronics. Apple’s push for fully recycled cobalt in its batteries by 2025 signals a fundamental shift in how raw materials are sourced.
If successful, that change could reduce mining demand and lower the environmental cost of each new phone, tablet, or laptop. The broader corporate movement toward carbon neutrality suggests that recycling and renewable energy are becoming central to how major technology companies plan to operate for years to come.
