Apple’s Product Environmental Reports give Apple Watch Series 12 a carbon footprint of 10 kg of gross greenhouse gas emissions (CO2e), Apple Watch Ultra 4 13 kg and AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case 11 kg. All three reports carry a “date introduced” of September 9, 2026, and are based on U.S. configurations with packaging and in-box accessories included.
That corrects the record on our side. On September 12 we wrote that Apple had not published a carbon total for Apple Watch Series 12 or Apple Watch Ultra 4, based on the press release, product pages and tech specs we checked. The totals are in Apple’s environmental report PDFs, which we had not checked for those products.
The three totals, phase by phase
Copied from each report:
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| Phase | Apple Watch Series 12 | Apple Watch Ultra 4 | AirPods 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Production | 6 kg | 7 kg | 9 kg |
| Non-electricity (e.g., materials and process) | 6 kg | 7 kg | 2 kg |
| Electricity | 0 kg | 0 kg | 7 kg |
| Infrastructure for renewable energy generation | 1 kg | 2 kg | under 1 kg |
| Transportation | 3 kg | 4 kg | 1 kg |
| Customer product use | 0 kg | 0 kg | under 1 kg |
| End-of-life processing | under 1 kg | under 1 kg | under 1 kg |
| Total | 10 kg | 13 kg | 11 kg |
Apple rounds each line, so rows do not always add up exactly to the printed total.
The Series 12 figure covers two configurations, each at 10 kg: the Aluminum Case paired with Sport Loop, Wi-Fi + Cellular, and the Titanium Case paired with Sport Loop, Wi-Fi + Cellular. Apple says the evaluation excludes the ceramic case. The Ultra 4 figure is for Apple Watch Ultra 4 with Titanium Milanese Loop.
Why the watches show zero for electricity
The surprise in this table is the two zeros on each watch. Both Apple Watch reports say 100 percent renewable electricity is sourced to cover both manufacturing and customer use, and two footnotes explain how:
- “We use a mix of supplier and Apple renewable energy projects when sourcing our manufacturing electricity.”
- “Apple is matching 100 percent of expected electricity consumption for product use with renewable electricity.”
So the zero does not mean a watch uses no power over its life. It means Apple counts that power as matched with renewable electricity. What remains is materials and process, the infrastructure that generates the renewable power, shipping, and recycling.
AirPods 5 does not carry that claim. Its report says 35 percent of manufacturing electricity for AirPods 5 was sourced from renewable energy, and electricity is 7 kg of its 9 kg production figure. That is why a pair of earbuds ends up with a higher total than Apple Watch Series 12.
Shipping is a big share on the watches
With electricity at zero, transportation becomes one of the larger lines: 3 kg of the Series 12 total and 4 kg of the Ultra 4 total. Apple says it redesigned the boxes for both.
- Apple Watch Series 12 packaging is smaller than Apple Watch Series 11 boxes, “enabling 10 percent more units shipped per trip.”
- Apple Watch Ultra 4 packaging is smaller than Apple Watch Ultra 3 boxes, “enabling 30 percent more units shipped per trip.”
- AirPods 5 has “50% more devices shipped per trip from redesigned packaging,” compared to AirPods 4. Apple says that figure excludes pallets shipped to Brazil.
All three comparisons are based on the number of multi-unit boxes that fit onto a pallet.
What Apple’s method counts
Apple says the figures follow ISO 14040, ISO 14044 and ISO 14067. Its reports define the four life cycle phases this way:
- Production: the extraction, processing and transportation of raw materials, plus the manufacture, transport and assembly of all parts and product packaging.
- Transport: ground, air and sea transportation of the finished product and its packaging from the manufacturing site to regional hubs and customers.
- Use: three years of use time for iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods, based on use patterns of historically similar products, including field telemetry from users who opt in to sharing device analytics.
- End-of-life processing: transportation from collection hubs to recycling centers and the energy used in mechanical separation and shredding of parts.
Recycled content, for context
Apple lists 40 percent recycled content in Apple Watch Series 12, 45 percent in Apple Watch Ultra 4 and 40 percent in AirPods 5. Both watch reports say the 3D printed titanium case is manufactured using 50 percent less raw material than an earlier model: Apple Watch Series 10 for Series 12, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 for Ultra 4. AirPods 5 uses 70 percent recycled plastic in the Wireless Charging Case.
What this means if you own one
Because Apple counts use-phase electricity as matched, how often you charge the watch does not change its published footprint. The number that moves is the one you control most: how long you keep it. Apple’s three-year use assumption is a modeling choice, and a watch worn longer spreads the same production and shipping emissions over more years.
Apple explains its approach in the Apple Watch Series 12 Product Environmental Report.
