7 Easy Sustainability Tips for Apple Technology Fans
We all love our Apple devices. The reasons are many–simplicity, design elegance and durability are some of the main things that come to mind. For all of us at AppleToolBox, there is another key reason why we love the Apple brand: Apple’s Commitment to Sustainability.
The company takes sustainability seriously and is well on the way to becoming powered completely by renewable energy. Apple sets the bar for implementing and encouraging sustainable business practices. It recently added three new suppliers that use 100% renewable power for all their operations. Apple is proving to the world that there is more to the brand value than just profit and return to shareholders.
Times are Changing
This year with its changing global politics, the company’s commitment is even more important. In a time when our country (the US) is considering pulling out of the Paris Climate change agreement, promoting sustainable practices with business matters all the more.
But sustainability doesn’t end with just purchasing our Apple iDevices and computers. So if you’re an Apple fan and believe in keeping our environment healthy, here are 7 easy tips to be more earth-friendly when using all your Apple devices! For Earth Day and Everyday.
Sustainability Tips # 1 Print Double Sided Using your Mac
There are times when digital versions of documents simply doesn’t cut it. You have no option but to print your documents to move forward. So our first sustainability tip is to set your Mac, MacBook, or other PC printing options to double-sided and save paper. Better yet, set this up as your default printing option so you only print single-sided when you really need to.
On your Mac or MacBook, press Command+P or File > Print from the top menu in order to bring up the Print options. Simply click on double-sided and you are good to go provided your printer supports the double-sided option.
To create this as your default printing option, just save it as a preset. Click on the Presets dropdown and choose “Current Settings as Preset.” Name the preset and confirm.
Sustainability Tips # 2 Understand and Use Effective Power Management on your MacBook
Saving power and idle capacity is one of the keystones of sustainability. Although Macs and MacBooks are built with energy efficiencies, you can still take steps by effectively managing the power settings on your machines.
Click on > System Preferences > Energy Saver.
Here are some defaults that can be helpful with the energy saver settings
Turn off Monitor: 5 minutes
System Standby: 20 minutes
Don’t forget to manage your computer’s power manually too! Just go to the Apple Menu and put your computer to sleep. Be aware that screen “savers” actually use energy so turn yours off by going to System Preferences > Screen Saver.
Tip # 3 Use Low Power Mode on your iPhone
Low Power Mode reduces the amount of power that your iPhone uses when the battery gets below a set threshold (usually 40%.) But you can use Low Power Mode anytime, no matter how much charge is remaining in your battery.
To turn Low Power Mode on or off, go to Settings > Battery. This feature automatically reduces display brightness, optimizes device performance, and minimizes system animations. That means more time between charges—saving you and the world a bit of energy.
And don’t forget to remove your case when charging
Charging your device when it’s inside some cases generates additional heat. And that often negatively impacts your iDevice’s battery capacity and performance over time. So if you notice that your iDevice gets hot when charging, please take it out the case. This extends the life of your battery, improves its performance as it ages, and saves you having to replace the battery—and potentially adding to e-waste.
Tip # 4 Preserve iPhone Battery Juice with these simple setting changes
If you need to continuously charge your iPhone or iPad, it’s time to revisit some of the battery efficiency settings.
Apple suggests that you dim your screen or better yet, turn on Auto-Brightness to extend battery life
To Dim, swipe up from the bottom of any screen to open Control Center and drag the Brightness slider to the left.
Auto-Brightness adjusts your screen to lighting conditions automatically. To activate it, go to Settings > Display & Brightness and set Auto-Brightness to On.
Choose WiFi Whenever Available
When you use your iDevice to access data, your WiFi connec