Meta’s Approach to Sustainability and Supply Chain Emissions

Meta's latest sustainability report shows a strategy influenced by rising AI demand and a substantial upstream footprint.

The company is net zero in its operations, uses 100% renewable energy and aims for net zero across its value chain by 2030.

With 99% of its emissions in Scope 3, decarbonisation efforts are focused on supply chain adjustments and lower-carbon infrastructure.

The report also highlights a greater focus on water restoration and biodiversity.

Decarbonising digital infrastructure

In 2024 Meta's net emissions were 8.2 million tonnes of CO₂e with Scope 3 accounting for 99% of this.

Capital goods (63%) and purchased goods (23%) are the main contributors, making embodied carbon in buildings and IT hardware key decarbonisation areas.

Meta also procured nearly 50,000 tons of carbon removals for its Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Beyond its 2030 net zero goal, Meta aims to cut Scopes 1 and 2 emissions by 42% by 2031 from a 2021 baseline.

It also plans to cap Scope 3 emissions at 2021 levels by 2031 and have two-thirds of suppliers set science-aligned targets by 2026.

Currently 48% of its supplier emissions are covered by these targets.

Since 2021, clean power purchasing has avoided 23.8 million tons of CO₂e with six million tons avoided in 2024 alone.

“Our sustainability strategy is centred around climate, water, supply chain responsibility and biodiversity,” writes Rachel Peterson, Vice President of Infrastructure Data Centers, and Blair Swedeen, Global Head of Net Zero and Sustainability, in Meta’s 2025 Sustainability Report.

“From optimising energy storage to identifying water leaks, AI is playing an important role in our sustainability efforts and is supporting the development of climate solutions for Meta, our industry and beyond.”

Over the last decade Meta-backed projects have added more than 15 GW of wind and solar power globally with 89 projects now operational.

Examples include large-scale solar projects in Singapore, Ireland and New Mexico.

Meta is also exploring other resources with agreements for next-generation geothermal energy and a 20-year power purchase agreement for nuclear power from the Clinton Clean Energy Center.

Water and biodiversity as business imperatives

To cut embodied carbon, Meta is using low-carbon concrete optimised by an AI model to achieve a 40% footprint reduction in trials.

Meta is also piloting mass timber which has shown a 41% emissions reduction.

Low-carbon metals and renewable HVO for backup generators are also being adopted.

AI data centre designs focus on efficiency providing more computing power per square metre.

All of Meta's data centres are LEED Gold certified or higher and 91% of construction waste was diverted from landfill in 2024.

Meta aims to be water positive by 2030 restoring more water than it consumes in water-stressed regions.

Since 2017 it has funded more than 40 projects across nine watersheds.

“Beyond these efforts, we continue to look for innovative ways to manage the environmental footprint of our data centres,” writes Rachel on LinkedIn.

“We’ve pioneered AI-optimised formulas to develop low carbon concrete for our data centre construction and advanced mass timber pilots as well. I’m proud of our team’s work to advance these milestones for our business."

In 2024 these projects returned more than six billion litres of water.

Once fully implemented they are expected to restore 11 to 13 billion litres annually.

Projects include precision irrigation in Nebraska and peatland rewetting in Ireland.

An AI-driven programme in New Mexico will monitor pipelines to save up to 1,480 million litres per year.

Creating a responsible supply chain

Biodiversity is now part of Meta's design process.

More than half of its data centre campus footprint, more than 1,619 hectares, is managed to support native habitats.

Examples include prairie restoration in Oregon and prescribed burns in Utah.

Community projects involve pollinator gardens and native tree plantings.

The report also details measures to minimise the impact of subsea cables.

For travel and logistics Meta has purchased nearly 15.1 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel since 2021.

As part of the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance it has committed to zero-emission shipping routes which could avoid 82,000 tons of CO₂e.

A renewable diesel pilot for employee shuttles saved an estimated 3,000 tons of CO₂e in 2024.

Meta also expanded its responsible supply chain programme reaching more than 60,000 manufacturing workers and increasing supplier sites in its Responsible Factory Initiative.