The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Big Tech Reduces its Carbon Footprint Some of the Big Tech companies are recognizing the pivotal role they play as leaders and role models within the sustainability movement. From reducing their own carbon footprint to reducing that of their customers and suppliers, each of the five Big Tech firms has announced - or is executing - plans to increase its sustainability. Alphabet (Google) Apple In May 2020, Google confirmed that Promised to reduce greenhouse it would no longer build customized gas emissions, announcing that by artificial intelligence technology or 2030 ‘every Apple device sold will machine learning algorithms for the have net-zero climate impact’. This oil and gas sector. It also pledged means both immediate changes in to include recycled material in its systems and indirect reallocation of devices by 2022. funds outside the company. Apple will reduce emissions by 75 percent in Amazon its manufacturing chain by recycling Its trucks, packaging and more components and encouraging distribution systems give it a massive its suppliers to use renewable energy. environmental footprint. Even its The company plans to rebalance recycling process is highly energy- the remaining 25 percent by intensive. In May 2020, Greenpeace funding reforestation projects and also called out Amazon (alongside improving its operational efficiency. Google and Microsoft) for using AI Activists claim companies that and cloud computing devices to help offset emissions through external oil producers find and extract oil funding allow emissions to ‘grow at and gas deposits. In an attempt to a time when the scientific consensus reduce its carbon footprint, Amazon demands that emissions be cut in has invested in or developed 127 half by 2030 to avoid the worst renewable energy projects and effects of climate change—and be declared itself the most prominent reduced to zero by 2050’. corporate buyer of renewable Microsoft energy in 2020. It also convinced 13 companies, including Microsoft and Asked its suppliers to report Unilever, to join its Climate Pledge emissions. In September 2020, initiative in 2019. Microsoft was reported as having explored underwater data centers. Facebook The company also announced the Has taken a hit for not censoring second phase of its AI for Earth the spread of misinformation about program – a new biodiversity climate change on its platform. initiative in the form of a ‘Planetary The company confirmed it would Computer’. And it announced plans use 100 percent renewable energy to become ‘water positive’, meaning in its facilities and reduce its data it will replenish more water than it centers’ water usage. But it has yet to consumes by the end of the decade. demonstrate how it intends to stop So are those good, bad or ugly? the spread of climate disinformation. 27