Technology and sustainability are becoming more and more interconnected.
Among people at the forefront, Google is the source of the use of innovation to create an environmental impact.
Google was founded over 25 years ago with sustainability as a fundamental value, just like today.
“We are in our third decade of climate action,” said Google’s sustainability manager in Emea, Adam Elman, speaking at Sustainability London. “Our program and our plans are still evolving.”
Google believes that by taking advantage of innovative technologies – such as automatic learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) – IT, as well as others, can approach climate change and “help build a lasting future for all”.
Google’s approach to sustainability thanks to climate technology
Adam is quick to highlight the potential of AI in sustainability. Research on Google recent alongside Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has revealed that, by increasing existing AI solutions, global greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced to 10% – equivalent to emissions throughout the EU.
“There is a huge opportunity here to help individuals, governments, cities and businesses around the world really act and not only to reduce the impacts of climate change, but to adapt to climate change,” explains Adam. “We do a large part of the work in the space of flood forecasts and detection of forest fires, that kind of thing.”
Acting is something Google has always done, with its approach in the form of technology and innovation. While he continues climate action, Google is working to make zero net emissions in its operations and its value chain by 2030, which gives the example while putting solutions available for others.
For example, Google Climate’s climate insistence tools help public sector agencies improve climate resilience, which highlights the vital role that governments play in understanding and response to climate change and the supply of the exploitable ideas they need to respond quickly.
Google: three decades of technology and sustainability
A neutral carbon organization since 2007, Google has given the example of an early stage that large companies can unlock sustainability objectives thanks to technological innovation while working towards theirs.
A decade later, Google reached another important step by matching 100% of its energy consumption with renewable energies – being the largest world buyer of renewable energy.
And while he moves through his third decade of climate action, more daring initiatives follow. In addition to working to make zero -clear emissions in all its value chain by 2030, it is committed, as Adam explains, “the supply of clean energy locally each hour of each day”, so that its data centers and its campuses in the world can work fully on carbon -free energy.
“We have a series of other ambitious goals and we are really clear about the objectives we are focusing on,” he said. “We also focus on construction and work with others to use AI to help others in this trip.”
This trip has grown, believes Adam, because organizations and governments more integrate sustainability into their operations, rather than this is a parallel project.
Throughout his career at Google – as well as his durability roles at Marks & Spencer, Amazon and the Pentaplast – Adam plastic packaging manufacturer has observed that companies act on sustainability and technology print to do so. Not only because the regulations have been introduced, but because it has a commercial meaning, creates viable opportunities and is morally and ethically the right thing to do.
“I work in the durability space to go to two decades now,” he says. “What is exciting for me is that it really went from what was a small team on the business side to integration.”
Chronology of some of the green initiatives by Google Climate Tech:
- 2006: Google has teamed up with EI Solutions to build a 1.6 MW solar energy system on its Mountain View campus. An important installation for the solar industry at the time, this installation marked the start of Google’s commitment to renewable energies on site.
Video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch? - 2007: Google announced its ambitious
Image: hero_ocean.width-1200.Format-webp - 2015: Google has introduced Project Work there, a service that uses Google Maps data to help owners estimate production and potential solar energy savings for their roofs. This tool aims to accelerate residential solar adoption.
Image: Project opening toir - 2017: Google has become the first company of its size to correspond to all its annual electricity consumption with renewable energies. This achievement made Google the largest renewable energy business buyer in the world at the time.
Image: in reader and subtitled with the text above - 2020: Google has set itself an ambitious objective to operate on 24/7 carbon -free energy in all its data and campuses in the world by 2030. This aims to ensure that Google operations are supplied by clean energy each hour of each day.
Image: copy_of_copy_of_grq-Apw-092417-7.width-1200.Format-webp - 2023: Google has launched Google for Accelerator in Europe startups: Climate Change, a 10 -week -old hybrid program without actions to empower high potential seeds to the A startups taking advantage of technology to combat climate change. This aims to evolve AI solutions for climate action while approaching the environmental impact of technology.
Image: Google for Startups Accelerator in Europe Climate Change