Cloud computing giant Salesforce has achieved two big feats: net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its direct operations,Submission Season 1 Episode 1 (2016) and a "carbon-neutral cloud" for all its customers.
The San Francisco firm on Thursday said it reached the environmental milestones by investing in wind power systems, designing energy-efficient data centers and buildings, and by purchasing credits from clean energy projects to offset its remaining fossil fuel use.
"We're seeing the urgency to act on climate change now more than ever," said Patrick Flynn, Salesforce's senior director of sustainability.
SEE ALSO: Google's data centers, offices will use 100% renewable energy in 2017Salesforce is part of a larger movement by global tech companies to confront their sector's growing carbon footprint.
After all, storing data in the cloud and streaming millions of movie and music files still has a major environmental impact. Data centers brimming with servers consume enormous amounts of energy, as do the offices where software developers, engineers, and coders work. If tech giants get that electricity from coal or natural gas, instead of renewables, the sector's emissions will balloon.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable To that end, Google has said it will power 100 percent of its data centers and offices with wind and solar power starting this year. Apple is investing in clean energy not only at its own buildings but also its manufacturing sites, a move that helped it earn the top score on Greenpeace's 2017 "Clicking Clean" report card.
In that report, Salesforce earned a "B," mainly because the rapidly growing company has expanded into areas that largely rely on coal-fired electricity. Emissions from Salesforce's data centers more than doubled in a year's time, from 52,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent in fiscal year 2015 to about 110,000 metric tons in fiscal year 2016, the company reported.
Flynn said that's precisely why Salesforce has accelerated its clean energy efforts.
The company last year signed two 12-year agreements to purchase power from wind farms in Texas and West Virginia. Both projects are expected to generate a combined 225,000 megawatt-hours of electricity each year -- slightly less than the 265,000 megawatt-hours of electricity Salesforce directly consumed during the last fiscal year.
The Salesforce Tower, center, is seen under construction in San Francisco, Sept. 22, 2016. Credit: Eric Risberg/AP/REX/Shutterstock Salesforce is also supporting two carbon offset projects, which are independently verified and regularly audited to ensure they actually translate into avoided greenhouse gas emissions.
The first project helps families in Honduras replace wood-burning cookstoves with more efficient alternatives to reduce harmful indoor air pollution and carbon emissions. A project in India will help put solar water heaters atop houses, buildings, and universities to displace the use of fossil fuels.
Salesforce first committed to achieving net-zero emissions in 2015 as part of a "Net Zero by 2050" initiative led by the B Team, a group of global business leaders. To reach that goal, Salesforce purchased enough clean electricity credits to cover the emissions from its offices and data centers, plus the power plants that keep its servers running.
Salesforce said it would also create a carbon-neutral cloud by offsetting emissions further down the supply chain, such as emissions related to installing servers in data centers.
Leah Seligmann, director of the B Team's net zero initiative, congratulated Salesforce on its milestones. "Salesforce's leadership will enable their customers to expand their networks emissions-free and inspire other companies around the world," she said in a statement.
The 10 Most Anticipated PC Games of 2016
Emile Zola Had Some Strange Complaints About London
Dostoyevsky’s Empathy
When Franz Kafka Invented the Answering Machine
Apple is actively looking at AI search for Safari
Uluç Ülgen’s Intimate Conversations with Total Strangers
Jonathan Lethem’s Collection of Vomiting Cats
Tennis with Mr. Nice: My Week with Howard Marks
Today's Hurdle hints and answers for May 9, 2025
Walking Camus’s Paris
Today's Hurdle hints and answers for May 9, 2025
La Mode Retrouvée: Looking for Proust’s Muse in Paris
Sam Lipsyte on Mary Robison’s “Likely Lake”
Staff Picks: Barbara Comyns, Russian Art, Derek Parfit
NYT mini crossword answers for May 12, 2025
Dave Tompkins on a Year of Listening and Hearing
How to Run Android Apps in Google Chrome
I Work for a Shipping Company—I’ve Been Sick for Over a Year
Best keyboard deals: Save on Asus gaming keyboards at Amazon
What Makes Languages Change? How Culture Shapes Our Words
NYT Strands hints, answers for May 5AMD Radeon RX 550 + Intel Pentium G4560Best iPad deal: Save $132 on Apple iPad (10th Gen)Is it 'Thunderbolts*' or *The New Avengers'?Best keyboard deals: Save on Asus gaming keyboards at AmazonExceptionally rare radio sources detected in the distant universeBest Max streaming deal: Save 20% on annual subscriptionsThis is the fattest of the extremely fat bearsBest Hydro Flask deal: Save $10 on a 24Ireland fines TikTok $600 million for sharing user data with ChinaHow to Settle Down with DystopiaBest soundbar deal: Save $300 on the Sonos ArcAMD Radeon RX 550 + Intel Pentium G4560A worthless juicer and a Gipper-branded serverBest portable power station deal: Save $179.01 on the EcoFlow River 2 MaxAgainst FearWhat cracked the Milky Way's giant cosmic bone? Scientists think they know.Hurricane Laura's impact lingered with nightmarish mosquito swarmsWaitin’ on the Student Debt JubileeSpaceX's Starlink satellite launch in pictures 'The Predator' is underwhelming, but also fine: Review Clinton's team attempts to read 5,500 Trump lawsuits in 4 hours on Facebook Live This Grand Budapest Hotel for bees Hillary Clinton tweeted some sassy responses to Republican convention speakers Here's how to update your iPhone, iPad, and even iPod Touch to iOS 12 Starbucks barista found a new way to troll annoying customers 'Game of Thrones' star Maisie Williams shares photo for Stark fans Weather Channel uses mixed reality to show the effects of a hurricane 10 best places where your mom can buy you quality socks and underwear 'Little Dragon Cafe' is the 'Harvest Moon' successor we needed: Review We ran Melania Trump's speech through a plagiarism checker YouTube Kids now comes with stronger parental controls Nintendo Switch is getting wireless NES controllers Justin Bieber and Jaden Smith reunite to perform 'Never Say Never' Lyft coupon deal makes getting to and from Emmys parties cheaper Photos and videos show the destruction and power of Florence Florida Man is back with heavy metal and an American Flag to face Hurricane Florence It only took 37 seconds for two bitcoin 'celebs' to start fighting on a cruise ship This tale of a tragic sneeze will make you throw away your eyelash curler How you can help victims of tropical storm Florence
2.6154s , 10132.390625 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Submission Season 1 Episode 1 (2016)】,Exquisite Information Network