Google recently disclosed its carbon footprint for the year 2010. The report outlines how the company has offset its carbon emissions through a mix of energy efficiency, renewable energy and alternative means of transportation. The Indian Youth Climate Network's ecoaudit program has also been created to help organisations reduce their impact by adopting sustainability practices with in the organisation. Click here to know more about our eco audit program.
In the case of Google, almost one-third of the company's electricity comes from renewable sources – a figure that is continuing to rise. The company offsets the emissions generated by the remainder of its electricity supply, along with those from its offices and transport.
Google's 2010 electricity consumption was 2,259,998 MWh that generated a total of 1.46 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. Without efficiency measures in the data centers Google's footprint would have been about twice as big. By purchasing and generating renewable energy, as well as buying high-quality carbon offsets, the company managed to bring down its emissions to zero.
Another interesting aspect of Google report is on the transportation front. The company claims to have taken 2,000 cars the road as a result of their shuttle program and electric vehicle charging stations, equivalent to 14,000,000 vehicle miles per year.
A lot of Indian IT majors have also been proactive in adopting sustainability measures. Companies like Infosys where we have orgainsed climate leadership workshops for employees have shown great leadership in reducing their carbon emissions as well as moving towards sustainability. Many of the companies that we reached out through our eco audit program have also adopted a series of measures based on our report and recomendations.