Apple is building an enormous new ring-shaped campus for its headquarters in Cupertino, California, the design and overall futuristic qualities of which have inspired the nickname "the Spaceship campus." Although construction on the campus (actual name Campus 2) has scarcely begun, Apple CEO Tim Cook is already boasting that that the building will be great for the rest of us earthlings who won't work there. Speaking today at the environmental nonprofit event Climate Week NYC, Cook said "we're building a new headquarters that I think will be the greenest building on the planet." (his comments start 1:15 into this video).

Apple has previously advertised the environmentally conscious features of Campus 2, most notably on the recently updated environmental section of its website, which states that the building will be "powered by 100 percent renewable energy sources" and rely on natural ventilation instead of temperature control during 75 percent of the year. Apple will also be installing more than 300 electric vehicle charging stations on the campus and planting more than 7,000 trees on the grounds. It's not clear yet if all of those features, plus whatever else Apple intends to add to improve the ecological footprint of Campus 2, will be able to win Apple the title of greenest building in the world (a title lately held by the Bullitt Center, an office complex in Seattle, according to World Architecture News). But Apple does have a reputation for attempting excellence in every category in which it enters.