Today, Apple introduced its second Impact Accelerator class. This cohort of 16 Black-, Hispanic/Latinx-, and Indigenous-owned environmental businesses is part of the company’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, which has around $130M invested to expand access to equity in education, elevate more app founders and technologists from underrepresented backgrounds, and invest further in criminal justice and environmental justice organizations.
These companies will participate in a three-month program aimed at accelerating progress toward their goals and helping speed the transition to a green economy in the US.
Executives and their teams will receive customized training that provides the knowledge and tools needed to succeed as an Apple supplier, access to Apple mentors and experts to help align business priorities with environmental goals, and scholarship opportunities with leading executive education programs focused on supply chain and growth.
“The fight to address climate change demands that we band together to develop innovative solutions while empowering and uplifting the communities we’re working to protect,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. “We are thrilled for this dynamic group of innovators to take their important work to the next level with help from our Impact Accelerator, and we are proud to deepen our commitment to working with partners around the country to ensure that environmental progress and equity go hand in hand.”
Following the second Impact Accelerator class, the companies will be considered for business opportunities with Apple as it works to achieve carbon neutrality across its entire manufacturing supply chain by 2030.
According to the company, the Impact Accelerator program was launched last year with the goal of ensuring that the company’s “strategic work and investments to protect the environment also help expand access to opportunity for communities of color.”
Since their participation in the program, companies in the inaugural Impact Accelerator class have seen increased recognition for their work within their sector and local communities, built connections with public- and private-sector leaders advancing climate-based solutions at the local and state levels, and seen their overall business opportunities expand. Several are currently working with Apple as part of the company’s supply chain network, and every company has participated in selective opportunities to be assessed for potential business with Apple.
You can meet the companies that will participate in the Impact Accelerator program here.
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