Apple celebrates 40 years in Australia with new energy and education initiatives › Macerkopf

Apple celebrated its Australian subsidiary’s 40th anniversary on Thursday. To mark the occasion, the company announced a series of initiatives aimed at helping not only the local community, but also the planet. These initiatives include projects promoting the use of renewable energy, new programming courses at universities, and more.

Renewable energy

Apple has pledged to accelerate the clean energy transition at its operations in Australia, with a climate goal of neutralizing carbon emissions by 2030.

Central to Apple’s plans for Australia is a new renewable energy program aimed at accelerating Apple’s progress towards its climate goals. Apple is buying clean energy from a new Queensland wind farm and wants to use it to “improve the energy customers use to power themselves.”

The Upper Burdekin wind farm is Apple’s second project after the company announced a solar project in Texas aimed at providing users with electricity to charge their devices.

“At Apple, we recognize the urgent need to address the climate crisis,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environmental, policy and community initiatives, “and we are accelerating our global work to ensure our products are sustainable throughout their lifetime. A net zero climate footprint.”

Programming courses

In addition to green projects, Apple is expanding its partnerships with RMIT University in Melbourne and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Apple and RMIT have been offering online courses in the Swift programming language since 2017.

Later this year, Apple will open applications for new Foundation programs, which will offer four-week courses on the basics of app development in Swift. The courses are expected to start in early 2023. The App Store currently supports 160,000 jobs in Australia.

“RMIT is proud to launch the Apple Foundation Program in 2023,” says the university’s Calum Drummond AO. “We believe this program will have a significant impact on supporting Australia’s innovation economy and fast-growing technology sector, encouraging more learners to acquire in-demand skills and knowledge in coding and iOS app development.”

Aboriginal community of Australia

Apple’s anniversary celebrations also include new commitments under its existing Racial Equality and Justice Initiative (REJI). An investment here is the support of the local tribal community. Apple will fund tribal-led companies to help these people use technology to “create and improve their own economic prosperity.” New measures include the introduction of an Impact Accelerator to promote equity and opportunities in the environmental sector.

“We all have a role to play in creating a fairer world,” said Alisha Johnson, Apple director of REJI. “Expanding the company’s racial equality and justice initiative to Australia is part of Apple’s long-term commitment to supporting Australia’s Indigenous communities by partnering with organizations that are making meaningful change.”