lisa jackson
Latest
Tim Cook and Lisa Jackson help Apple celebrate LGBT Pride Parade in San Francisco
Apple has long been a supporter of LGBT equality and the company was out in force yesterday at the 44th annual Pride parade in San Francisco. Over 5,000 employees are estimated to have taken part in the parade, including CEO Tim Cook and Lisa Jackson, the company's recently hired environmental chief. On Sunday, Tim Cook tweeted out the following: Congrats to 5000 Apple employees/families who attended today's Pride parade.Inclusion inspires innovation.#applepride pic.twitter.com/4DncX8F6fO - Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 29, 2014 At the parade, Apple employees handed out iTunes gift cards good for one free song download. The tweet below is from Jackee Chang, an employee on Apple's Final Cut Pro software team. Look what #applepride will passing out!!! #sfpride pic.twitter.com/Y8GSgPpBfn - jackee chang (@jackeechang) June 29, 2014 Also getting in on the action was Apple VP of Environmental Initiatives Lisa Jackson, who helped carry Apple's banner during the parade. Here we go. Honored to be a banner carrier Thanks #applepride pic.twitter.com/Jtmb7Mj9KO - Lisa P. Jackson (@lisapjackson) June 29, 2014 For a full recap of Apple's participation in the parade, make sure to peruse Twitter for the hashtag #ApplePride.
Apple renewable energy use grows from 35 to 95 percent in less than 4 years
As of today, Apple has been able to convert its corporate campuses and data centers to using 95 percent renewable energy sources for their power. According to this great article over at WIRED, in 2010 that number was at 35 percent. Apple appointed Lisa Jackson, former EPA administrator and once environmental czar for Obama, as its Vice President of Environmental Initiatives not that long ago. The company has been eager to tell the story of its environmental efforts in a hope that other companies will follow its example. Of course, Apple has the cash and savvy that most companies don't, putting it in a unique position to "think different" when it comes to its energy needs. The WIRED article is an excellent in-depth look into what Apple is doing to clean up its record on renewables, and the efforts of Jackson to help the tech industry think green as data centers become one of the larger growth areas. Those data centers can require a lot of juice, and its an area where Jackson sees an opportunity to lead innovation. Today, Apple released a video narrated by CEO Tim Cook that outlines the company's commitment to using renewable energy in its manufacturing and cloud facilities:
Apple environmental head Lisa Jackson talks about making Apple more environmentally friendly
With Tim Cook at the helm, Apple has continuously demonstrated an increasing focus on ensuring that its operations are as environmentally sound as possible. A perfect example of Apple's commitment to clean up its act (pun partially intended) is its recent hire of Lisa Jackson as VP of Environmental Initiatives. Previously, Jackson served as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. News that Jackson would be joining the mix at Apple was first revealed by none other than Tim Cook who let the cat out of the bag during this year's All Things D Conference. When you get larger, you get more attention. It comes with the territory. We're doing incredible work in the environment for example. We've been focused on that for a long time ... eliminated toxins from all of our products, running data centers on 100 percent renewable energy, largest solar farm of any non-utility. Lisa Jackson is joining Apple ... she recently left the EPA and will be coordinating efforts across the company. She'll be reporting to me. Hardly a nominal position, Jackson means business and has every intention of increasing the green factor at Apple. Earlier this week, Jackson spoke at VERGE, a conference focused on increasing sustainability through technology. Gigaom has a great recap of her speech, and lest anyone think that Jackson will quietly toe the party line, think again. This quote, relayed by Gigaom, should put those types of reservations to rest. "Tim Cook didn't hire Lisa Jackson to be quiet and keep the status quo," Jackson said. "We understand our responsibility and we do care." The typically secretive company is eager to share its environmental initiatives. At the same time, Jackson clearly felt comfortable talking about the inherent challenges of her position and discussing just what she's focusing on at Apple. Jackson talked about the challenges of pushing and developing sustainability projects within Apple. One of them is the challenge of collecting solid data and being able to measure projects and their success rates. This includes Apple's method to calculate the energy use and carbon footprint of its operation and products, the manufacturing of its devices and the supply chain and customers' use of the products. Jackson pointed to the life cycle analysis that Steve Jobs publicized back in 2009 in an effort to change the company's image, as an example of Apple's attention to creating sustainability metrics and data. Jackson leads a team of 17 people and one of her group's tasks is to recruit employees who are willing to help with the company's sustainability projects. There is a group of such employees who called themselves Apple Earth, and Jackson said she joined that group on her second day at the company. "People are busy with their primary work, so it's about finding champions in areas where people are interested in," said Jackson. At one point, Jackson joked that the best way to ensure something at Apple gets done faster is to tell an engineer that it can't be done. If you want more details on the content of Jackson's speech, GreenBiz also has a nice recap over here. Even better, if you're eager to hear every detail from Jackson's 29-minute talk, the full video can be viewed below.
Apple praised in China for environmental policies
Chinese environmental activist Ma Jun recently said that Apple has made major strides towards becoming more environmentally friendly and transparent with respect to the company's operations in China. While speaking at the Fortune Global Forum in Chengdu, China, Ma explained that Apple has recently transfromed from a company that was completely closed off about its environmental practices in China to one of the more environmentally progressive tech companies in the country. Adam Lashinsky of Fortune reports: Ma is a well-known former journalist who has devoted considerable energy to water issues in China. His group collects pollution data on Chinese companies and shares it with Western companies to help them better understand the ramifications of their supply chain partners. He said Apple not only has begun cooperating with his organization, it has become a positive force on the overall supply chain ecosystem in China. "They have gone the furthest in motivating key suppliers," Jun explained. Since taking over CEO duties at Apple, Tim Cook has been outspoken about Apple's responsibility to uphold high standards with respect to both environmental and labor conditions abroad. For instance, following the series of Pulitzer Prize-winning hit pieces about Apple's operations in China, Cook penned a letter to Apple employees highlighting all that Apple does to create satisfactory working conditions while also promising that Apple will never "stand still or turn a blind eye to problems in our supply chain." Indeed, earlier this week covered how Cook, while speaking at Duke University this past April, explained that he views environmental responsibility as a key part of his framework of ethical leadership. When I think of ethics, I think of leaving things better than you found them, and to me that goes from the environment to how you work with suppliers with labor questions to the carbon footprint of your products to the things you choose to support to the way you treat your employees. Your whole persona fits under that umbrella... Fortune adds: Apple typically maintains that its environmental and labor-rights records have always been good. Yet the Chinese group's report makes clear that if nothing else, Apple's attitude toward discussing its record and opening itself up to criticism have changed. The report notes that there was a noticeable change in Apple's policies in China once Tim Cook assumed control of the company. Lastly, and perhaps an indication of Apple's increased efforts to have a positive impact on the environment, Tim Cook revealed during this year's All Things D conference that Apple had recently hired former EPA chief Lisa Jackson to coordinate Apple's environmental practices.
Former EPA chief Lisa Jackson "thrilled" to be joining Apple; Greenpeace applauds the hire
In an email sent to Politico on Wednesday, former EPA chief Lisa Jackson said that she was thrilled to be joining Apple where she will help coordinate all of the company's environmental initiatives. I'm incredibly impressed with Apple's commitment to the environment and I'm thrilled to be joining the team. Apple has shown how innovation can drive real progress by removing toxics from its products, incorporating renewable energy in its data center plans and continually raising the bar for energy efficiency in the electronics industry. I look forward to helping support and promote these efforts, as well as leading new ones in the future aimed at protecting the environment. News that Jackson was set to join Apple first broke when Tim Cook spilled the beans during Tuesday evening's AllThingsD interview with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. Meanwhile, Greenpeace, which has historically targeted Apple for environmental indiscretions, applauded the company's recent hire. In an official blogpost on the matter, Greenpeace Senior IT Analyst Gary Cook opined: Apple has made a bold move in hiring Lisa Jackson, a proven advocate with a track record of combating toxic waste and the dirty energy that causes global warming, two of Apple's biggest challenges as it continues to grow. Jackson can make Apple the top environmental leader in the tech sector by helping the company use its influence to push electric utilities and governments to provide the clean energy that both Apple and America need right now.
