Why it matters to you
Beyond the fact that stickers are cool, our planet is even cooler. Apple wants to raise awareness about the environment, and you can be part of the fun.
Earth Day is this Saturday, and in celebration Apple is launching the latest Apple Watch Challenge. As a part of the event, Apple Watch owners are challenged to get their butts outside and completely 30 minutes of exercise — after which they’ll unlock a slew of new iMessage stickers and special achievements.
“Get outside and celebrate Earth Day on April 22 and earn this award. Go for a walk, run, cycle, wheelchair, or swim workout of 30 minutes or more in the Workout app or any third-party app that writes these workouts to Health. You will also earn special stickers for Messages,” said Apple in a statement announcing the challenge.
The Apple Watch challenge isn’t the only thing Apple is doing in celebration of Earth Day. The company has also launched a video series featuring interviews with key Apple employees leading Apple’s effort to address climate change and use safer materials. The company also touted its new campus, which is highly climate-friendly. In fact, the campus will feature a hefty 9,000 native and drought-resistant trees, and is powered completely by renewable energy.
Apple has long made an effort to be among the more climate-conscious tech companies. At this point, 96 percent of its operations are powered by renewable energy — including retail stores, offices, distribution centers, and so on. As part of that, 100 percent of Apple’s operations are renewable in 24 countries.
Apple has also partnered with forestry companies to create more sustainably managed forests — and in partnering with WWF in China, Apple has helped transition a hefty 320,000 acres of forest toward Forest Stewardship Council certification. And, of course, the company has created Liam, a robot aimed at tearing down old Apple devices so that components can be reused for new Apple devices. Liam has so far been put to work on using the aluminum enclosures from the iPhone 6 to create Mac Mini computers.
And in terms of helping its own customers to pursue a healthy lifestyle, hopefully Apple’s latest Apple Watch challenge will be enough to get you outside for at least 30 minutes.