Apple Supports California Bill That Requires Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting

Senator Scott Wiener launched the Wiener Bill. (photo: twitter @Scott_Wiener)

Apple Inc., has backed a California Senate Bill that will require large companies to report the level of greenhouse gas emissions they generate every year. This was said by the senator who proposed the move, so that Apple became the latest major company to do so.

"In our environmental journey, we have stressed the importance of measurements and reporting to help us understand our impact," said the letter, signed by D. Michael Foulkes, Apple's state and local government affairs director, a copy of which was uploaded by Senator Scott Wiener to X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Wiener Bill will require public and private companies with annual revenues above $1 billion in California-businessed businesses, traditionally paying attention to climate change issues, to disclose independently verified data on geothermal emissions.

Huge new endorsement — @Apple — of our groundbreaking climate bill to require large corporations to disclose their carbon footprint (SB 253).Thank you, Apple, for making clear that this is doable & a critically important piece of climate action. pic.twitter.com/mntbWzXFDV

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) September 7, 2023

HUGE new endorsement @Apple of our groundbreaking climate bill to return large corporations to disclose their carbon footprint (SB 253).Thank you, Apple, for making it clear that this is doable & a critically imported piece of climate action. pic.twitter.com/mntbWzXFDV

"Thank you, Apple, for making it clear that this can be done and is a very important part of climate action," Wiener wrote. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The top US securities authorities have yet to issue their own long-awaited rules regarding climate-related disclosures, and California senators continue to advance at the state level.

The separate bills under discussion will require companies operating in California, with revenues of $500 million, reporting on climate-related financial risks such as whether they have budgeted increased compliance costs and insurance costs. Together, the bill could affect thousands of companies.

Groups such as Adobe, Ikea, and Microsoft expressed their support for the Wiener Bill in a letter addressed to California officials last August, according to a copy posted online by activist groups Ceres.

In his letter to Wiener, Apple praised his efforts in the bill as trying to require companies to measure and report indirect emissions linked to their supply chain and end users, known as Scope 3.

While noting that currently the bill still provides sufficient time for data collection, quality control, and review of third parties related to the disclosure of Scope 1 and Scope 2 - related to emissions from operations and related to the use of corporate energy - Apple proposes to "take enough time to collect data, quality control, and review third parties."