SAN FRANCISCO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Apple announced on Thursday that it has issued 4.7 billion U.S. dollars in three Green Bonds to accelerate progress toward the company's goal to become carbon neutral across its supply chain by 2030.

       Its first two bonds in 2016 and 2017 were fully allocated. The 2019 Green Bond is supporting 50 projects, including the low-carbon aluminum breakthrough, according to the announcement.

       As part of the projects, Apple plans to use the world's first commercial-purity low-carbon aluminum from ELYSIS in the iPhone SE, the announcement said.

       These 50 projects will mitigate or offset 2,883,000 metric tons of CO2e, install nearly 700 megawatts of renewable energy capacity around the world, and promote new recycling research and development, the company said.

       "Our Green Bonds are a key tool to drive our environmental efforts forward," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives.

       "Our investments are advancing the breakthrough technologies needed to reduce the carbon footprint of the materials we use," she added.