Google: Harnessing Technology to Combat Climate Change

Technology and sustainability are becoming increasingly interconnected.

Among those at the forefront of this is Google, leading the charge in using innovation to create environmental impact. 

Google was founded more than 25 years ago with sustainability as a core value, just as it is today.

“We’re in our third decade of climate action,” says Google’s Head of Sustainability in EMEA, Adam Elman, speaking at Sustainability LIVE London. “Our programme and our plans are always evolving.”

Google believes that by leveraging innovative technologies – such as machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) – it, along with others, can address climate change and “help build a sustainable future for all”.

Google’s approach to sustainability through climate technology

Adam is quick to highlight the potential of AI in sustainability. Recent Google research alongside Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that, by scaling up existing AI solutions, global greenhouse gas emissions could be cut by up to 10% – equivalent to emissions across the entirety of the EU. 

“There's a huge opportunity here in helping individuals, governments, cities and companies around the world really take action and not only reduce the impacts of climate change, but adapt to climate change,” Adam says. “We’re doing a lot of the work in the space of flood forecasting and wildfire detection, those sorts of things.”

Taking action is something that Google has always done, with its approach coming in the form of technology and innovation. As it pursues climate action, Google is working on achieving net-zero emissions across its operations and value chain by 2030, leading by example while making solutions available for others.

For example, Google Cloud’s Climate Insights tools help public sector agencies improve climate resilience, which underscores the vital role governments play in understanding and responding to climate change and providing the actionable insights they need to respond quickly. 

Google: Three decades of technology and sustainability

Google set an example from an early stage that major corporations can unlock sustainability goals through technological innovation while also working toward their own.

A decade later, Google achieved another milestone by matching 100% of its energy use with renewable energy – making itself the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy. 

And as it moves through its third decade of climate action, bolder initiatives follow. As well as working to achieve net-zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2030, it has committed to, as Adam explains, “sourcing clean energy locally every hour of every single day”, so its data centres and campuses worldwide can fully operate on carbon-free energy.

“We have a raft of other ambitious goals and we're really clear on the goals that we're focused on,” he says. “We’re also focused on building and working with others to use AI to help others on that journey.”

This journey has gained momentum, Adam believes, as organisations and governments integrate sustainability further into their operations, rather than it being a side project.

Across his career at Google — as well as his sustainability roles at Marks & Spencer, Amazon and at plastic packaging manufacturer Klöckner Pentaplast – Adam has observed that businesses are acting on sustainability and leveraging technology to do so. not just because regulation has been introduced, but because it makes business sense, creates viable opportunities and is morally and ethically the right thing to do.

“I've been working in the sustainability space for coming up to two decades now,” he says. “The exciting thing for me is that it has really moved from what used to be a small team on the side of the business to being integrated.”

Timeline of some of Google’s green, climate tech initiatives:

• 2006: Google partnered with EI Solutions to build a 1.6MW solar energy system on its Mountain View campus. A significant installation for the solar industry at the time, this installation marked the beginning of Google’s commitment to on-site renewable energy.

• 2007: Google announced its ambitious RE<C (Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal) initiative, which aimed to invest directly in groundbreaking technologies that could transform the energy sector. Google invested millions in concentrating solar power developers, enhanced geothermal systems and hydrothermal drilling companies as part of the programme.

• 2015: Google introduced Project Sunroof, a service that uses Google Maps data to help homeowners estimate the potential solar energy production and savings for their rooftops. This tool aims to accelerate residential solar adoption.

• 2017: Google became the first company of its size to match its entire annual electricity consumption with renewable energy. This achievement made Google the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the world at the time.

• 2020: Google set an ambitious goal to operate on 24/7 carbon-free energy in all its data centres and campuses worldwide by 2030. This aims to ensure that Google’s operations are powered by clean energy every hour of every day.
  

• 2023: Google launched Google for Startups Accelerator in Europe: Climate Change, a 10-week, equity-free hybrid programme to empower high-potential Seed to Series A startups leveraging technology to combat climate change. This aims to scale AI solutions for climate action while addressing the technology's environmental impact.
  

To read the full article in the magazine, click HERE.

Explore the latest edition of Sustainability Magazine and be part of the conversation at our global conference series, Sustainability LIVE. 

Discover all our upcoming events and secure your tickets today.

Sustainability Magazine is a BizClik brand