Manufacturer carbon reports

MacBook Air M1 256GB carbon footprint: source and scope

Apple reports 161 kg CO₂e for the MacBook Air M1 256GB reference lifecycle. Review the 76% production share and configuration limits before modelling a second life.

Manufacturer-reported lifecycle footprint

161 kg CO₂e

MacBook Air (M1, 2020), 13-inch, Apple M1 chip, 256GB storage; US configuration.

This is a new-product reference scenario from the manufacturer. It is not the measured footprint of your used device, the impact of refurbishment, or verified avoided emissions.
Reported configuration
MacBook Air (M1, 2020), 13-inch, Apple M1 chip, 256GB storage; US configuration.
System boundary
Manufacturer's original product lifecycle: production, transport, use and end-of-life processing. This is not an absolute footprint of a refurbished unit.
Use scenario / region
US hardware configuration; regional electricity mixes in the manufacturer model.
Use period in the report
The source describes three or four years for first owners depending on product type, without explicitly assigning a duration to this model. No exact duration is inferred.

Lifecycle phases as reported

Production
76 %
Transport
8 %
Use
15 %
End of life
< 1 %

Values retain the source’s units and rounding. A “less than” value is not zero; percentages are not converted into apparently exact kilograms.

Uncertainty and limitations

Apple describes model and data uncertainty but does not quantify a statistical interval in this report. The end-of-life share remains less than 1%, not zero.

Before using this result for refurbishment or ITAD

  • Match the storage configuration and model generation before using this reference.
  • A refurbishment scenario needs its own parts, repair, logistics and service-life assumptions. The original total does not demonstrate actual avoided emissions.

Original source and review

13-inch MacBook Air Product Environmental Report (November 2020)

Publisher
Apple
Pages checked
2, 8
Source publication date
Not established in this source review
Source reviewed
September 21, 2026
Page updated
September 21, 2026
SHA-256 of the reviewed source

bedaf08d17d6a281726ddca521ce3d116fb382f9ce912522166c1124ee2d79ec

Other reviewed models in this category

Dynabook Tecra A40-J, i7 / 16GB

Dynabook reports 190 kg CO₂e for the Tecra A40-J i7/16GB: 97 kg manufacturing and 57 kg use in a five-year US scenario with 21.3 kWh per year.

Intel Core i7-1185G7, 16GB RAM, 14-inch display, 1.8 kg device. Storage is not specified in the report.

Inspect report

Dynabook Tecra A50-J, i7 / 32GB

Dynabook reports 210 kg CO₂e for the Tecra A50-J i7/32GB: 113 kg manufacturing and 61 kg use over five US years. Its 1 kg end-of-life phase is not zero.

Intel Core i7-1185G7, 32GB RAM, 15.6-inch display, 2.1 kg device. Storage is not specified in the report.

Inspect report

Turn a source into a documented calculation

Check the exact device, country, remaining service life and refurbishment activities in the calculator. Keep a modelled reuse comparison separate from an emissions inventory and support each customer-facing claim with its own evidence.

The calculator requires an account. A manufacturer report is readable without registration.