Google is claiming its carbon footprint is now zero. The tech giant says it was able to achieve this by investing in “high-quality” carbon offsets.
Here’s how Google says it is helping build a carbon-free future for everyone:
- Eliminating its entire carbon legacy, effective today.
- Becoming the first major company to make a commitment to operate on 24/7 carbon-free energy in all data centers and campuses worldwide. Google is hopoing to get this done by 2030.
- Google is investing in technologies to help its partners and people all over the world make sustainable choices. For example, the company is investing in manufacturing regions to enable 5 GW of new carbon-free energy, helping 500 cities reduce their carbon emissions and finding new ways to empower 1 billion people through our products.
- According to Google’s estimations, the commitments the company is making today will directly generate more than 20,000 new jobs in clean energy and associated industries — in America and around the world — by 2025.
In a company blog post, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said, “As of today, we have eliminated Google’s entire carbon legacy (covering all our operational emissions before we became carbon neutral in 2007) through the purchase of high-quality carbon offsets. This means that Google’s lifetime net carbon footprint is now zero. We’re pleased to be the first major company to get this done, today.”
Google has long been a proponent of renewable energy and water conservation as well. Earlier this month, Google signed a power purchase agreement with Candela Renewables for 140 megawatts of solar power in Texas. The independent utility-scale solar power project developer plans to build a new solar facility in the state.
And in August, the company achieved the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) certification at its Mountain View, Calif., Los Angeles, Calif., and Dublin, Ireland campuses under the AWS Standard. Earning AWS certification for commercial office space demonstrates a company’s commitment to understanding the complex issues and opportunities within the watersheds it operates and to work with local stakeholders to achieve the five outcomes of water stewardship to include: sustainable water balance, good water quality, good water governance, the healthy status of important water-related areas (rivers, marshes, etc.), and safe water access, sanitation and hygiene for everyone (WASH).
EMILY HOLBROOK
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