Thursday, August 25, 2016

Apple Music Festival to Light Up London with 10 Nights of Spectacular Performances This September

Source: Apple Press - Press Releases - August 25, 2016
Alicia Keys, Bastille, Britney Spears, Calvin Harris, Chance the Rapper, Elton John, Michael BublĂ©, OneRepublic, Robbie Williams and The 1975 Headline Festival’s 10th Anniversary
LONDON ― August 25, 2016 ― Apple® today announced the Apple Music® Festival will return to London's legendary Roundhouse this September for a 10th anniversary celebration of live music, curated exclusively by Apple Music for fans around the world.

The full lineup was announced today by Julie Adenuga, the London voice of Beats 1®, an Apple Music radio station that celebrates the best new music every day. Apple Music lets fans get even closer to their favorite performers during the Apple Music Festival with exclusive playlists, artist news and backstage interviews throughout September. The 10 spectacular nights of live performances will be made available live and on-demand to Apple Music members in 100 countries on their iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch®, Mac®, PC, Apple TV® and Android phones.

“Over the past decade, the Festival has brought the biggest and best artists from all over the world to London and into the homes of millions of music fans,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of International Content. “This year’s Apple Music Festival builds on that incredible legacy and we couldn’t be more excited to have another amazing lineup to celebrate our 10th birthday.”

Artists performing at the upcoming Apple Music Festival shared their excitement:

“I love London and performing at the Roundhouse! I can't wait to see you there. It’s going to be magic!” - Alicia Keys

“We're massively excited to play Apple Music Festival for many reasons, but mainly because it'll be our first proper London show after the release of our new album, ‘Wild World.’” "The Roundhouse is such a beautiful venue and it's in our hometown, so I can't think of a better place to play a bunch of new songs for the first time.” - Bastille

“I’m so excited to go back to London, which is a special place for me to visit and I’m really looking forward to performing at the Apple Music Festival. It’s also their 10th birthday! It’s going to be a great party.” - Britney Spears

“I’m very excited to be headlining at this year’s Apple Music Festival at the Roundhouse in London, and for everyone around the world to be able to watch it live on Apple Music.” - Calvin Harris

“I am so excited to be playing at the Roundhouse. I love London and can’t wait to share this fantastic experience at the Apple Music Festival with my fans.” - Elton John

“We are looking forward to returning to the iconic Roundhouse this year to play one of our favorite festivals, the Apple Music Festival, and perform new music for our fans!" - OneRepublic

“We're really looking forward to being a part of this year's Apple Music Festival. We loved playing at The Roundhouse for the 2013 Festival and are excited to be heading back this year.” - The 1975

Apple Music Festival runs from September 18 to September 30. Fans based in the UK can apply to win tickets by entering prize draws on Apple Music, as well as through select media partners.

Apple Music is a single, intuitive app that combines the best ways to enjoy music—all in one place. Over 15 million paying subscribers are already enjoying hand-picked playlists based on the music they love, hearing new music first before anyone else and discovering new artists every day.

For updates and additional information, visit www.applemusicfestival.com or join the conversation using #AMF10 on the official Apple Music social media channels.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.


Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Apple Announces Environmental Progress in China & Applauds Supplier Commitment to Clean Energy

Source: Apple Press - Press Releases - August 17, 2016
Lens Technology is First Supplier to Commit to 100% Renewable Energy for All Apple Operations
All 14 Final Assembly Sites in China are Now Zero Waste Compliant
BEIJING — August 17, 2016 — Apple® today announced a significant commitment by major supplier Lens Technology to run its Apple operations on entirely renewable energy. This unprecedented commitment, combined with zero waste compliance from all final assembly sites, furthers Apple’s efforts to help manufacturers lower their carbon footprint and reduce waste in China, helping to advance China’s transition to a new green economy.

Lens Technology has committed to power all of its glass production for Apple with 100 percent renewable energy by the end of 2018, as part of Apple’s industry-leading supply chain clean energy program announced last year. Lens is the first supplier to make a clean energy commitment for all of its Apple production, and will meet its goal through an unprecedented power purchase agreement with local wind projects.

Apple is working with suppliers to help transform the environmental landscape in China, and is proud to announce all 14 of its final assembly sites in China are now compliant with UL’s Zero Waste to Landfill validation. The UL standard certifies all of their manufacturing waste is reused, recycled, composted, or, when necessary, converted into energy. Since the program began in January 2015, the sites have diverted more than 140,000 metric tons of waste from landfills.

“We want to show the world that you can manufacture responsibly and we’re working alongside our suppliers to help them lower their environmental impact in China,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. “We congratulate Lens for their bold step, and hope by sharing the lessons we’ve learned in our transition to renewable energy, our suppliers will continue to access clean power projects, moving China closer to its green manufacturing goals.”

“Our power purchase agreement is the first of its kind in southern China and we hope it will serve as an example for other companies looking to transition to cleaner, more economical sources of power,” said Lens CEO Zhou Qunfei. “We’re pleased to be the first supplier to commit to covering all of our Apple production with renewable energy, and proud to source from local Hunan wind farms to power our facilities in Changsha.”

Lens’ manufacturing with Apple currently includes two facilities in Changsha, Hunan province. Wind energy will cover 100 percent of the energy consumed producing Apple products at Lens facilities by 2018, avoiding nearly 450,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, equivalent to the energy use in 380,000 Chinese homes.

Through its clean energy program, Apple will partner with suppliers in China to install more than 2 gigawatts of new clean energy in the coming years, avoiding over 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution in the country between now and 2020. Foxconn committed in October to construct 400 megawatts of solar, starting in Henan province, by 2018. The manufacturer is now well on its way to constructing the first 80 megawatts of that commitment.

Earlier this year, Foxconn final assembly sites at Guanlan and Taiyuan were the first in China to receive UL’s Zero Waste to Landfill validation. With the recent addition of 12 manufacturing sites, all of Apple’s final assembly production in China is now zero waste compliant.

“We applaud innovative companies, like Apple, that are leading by actively reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing operations,” said UL president and CEO Keith Williams. “Achieving zero waste is an extensive effort that requires close coordination across all facets of a company’s operations, especially when the commitment is global.”

Apple has taken significant steps to protect the environment by transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy. Today, the company is powering 100 percent of its operations in China and the US, and more than 93 percent of its worldwide operations, with renewable energy.

Learn more about Apple’s environmental efforts at apple.com/environment.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.