Operating sustainably

See how we’re working to drive sustainability across our operations.

Group of workers asemble rows of solar panels in a green field
The Rødby Fjord solar project adds carbon-free energy to the grid that powers our data center in Fredericia, Denmark
View of Google's Bay View campus at dusk
Our Bay View campus at dusk. Photo by Iwan Baanis
Pixel + Nest products which include the Nest Doorbell, Nest Wifi Pro, Pixel 7, and Pixel Watch
Pixel & Nest products includling the Nest Doorbell, Nest Wifi Pro, Pixel 7, and Pixel Watch
A butterfly lands on purple flowers.
A monarch butterfly at Charleston East. Photo: Rick Miskiv for Google
  • Pursue net-zero emissions

    We’ve set a goal to achieve net-zero emissions across all of our operations and value chain by 2030.1

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  • Advance our standard of water stewardship

    We aim to replenish more freshwater than we consume and help improve water quality and ecosystem health in the communities where we operate.

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  • Accelerate a circular economy

    Our ambition is to maximize the reuse of finite resources across our operations, products, and supply chains and enable others to do the same.

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  • Protect nature & biodiversity in the places where we operate

    We strive to restore and enhance nature and biodiversity through our campuses and technology.

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01

Tracking our progress

We believe it is critical to regularly track our progress and be transparent with what we’ve accomplished and where we’re going.

Tracking our progress

We believe it is critical to regularly track our progress and be transparent with what we’ve accomplished and where we’re going.

Aerial view of the Norther offshore wind farm in Belgium
Our first offshore wind PPA, the Norther offshore wind farm in the Belgian North Sea

Net-zero carbon

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Target
Target year
2023
Status

Carbon reduction

Target

Reduce 50% of our combined Scope 1, 2 (market-based), and 3 absolute emissions by 2030. Invest in nature-based and technology-based carbon removal solutions to neutralize our remaining emissions.*

Target year

2030

2023

Our total GHG emissions were 14.3 million tCO2e, representing a 13% year-over-year increase and a 48% increase compared to our 2019 target base year—primarily due to increases in data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions.

Status Ongoing

Carbon-free energy2

Target

Run on 24/7 carbon-free energy on every grid where we operate by 2030.

*Having previously used “before” and “by” interchangeably, we’ve refined the language of our carbon reduction target to “by” 2030 to enhance clarity and improve consistency with our targets. This adjustment, made in consultation with the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, doesn’t alter our ambition, target strategy, or approach to our emissions reduction efforts.

Target year

2030

2023

We maintained a global average of approximately 64% carbon-free energy across our data centers and offices from 2022 to 2023—despite growth in electricity demand over this period.

Status Ongoing
Cooling towers at a data center in Belgium
Cooling towers at our data center in Belgium

Water stewardship

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Target
Target year
2023
Status

Water replenishment

Target

Replenish 120% of the freshwater3 volume we consume, on average, across our offices and data centers.

Target year

2030

2023

Our water stewardship projects replenished approximately 18% of our freshwater consumption from our data centers and offices4—tripling our replenishment progress of 6% in 2022.

Status Ongoing
This multi-story Google data center is located in the heart of Singapore.
Our impact on the circular economy cuts across all our core business operations, including the data centers we build and operate to power our products. This multi-story Google data center is located in the heart of Singapore

Circular economy

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Target
Target year
2023
Status

Data centers

Target

Achieve Zero Waste to Landfill5 for our global data center operations.

Target year

N/A

2023

Following our updated waste accounting methodology, 29% (8 out of 28) of our Google-owned and -operated data center campuses met our Zero Waste to Landfill goal.6

Status Ongoing

Offices

Target

Divert all food waste from landfill by 2025.

Target year

2025

2023

We diverted 82% of food waste from landfill—a slight decrease from 85% in 2022—due, in part, to limited composting infrastructure in certain regions.

Status Ongoing

Consumer hardware products

Target

Use recycled or renewable material in at least 50% of plastic used across our consumer hardware product portfolio by 2025.

Target year

2025

2023

34% of the plastic Google used in products manufactured in 2023 was recycled content.7 This decrease from 41% in 20228 was due to changes in our product mix—some product types use less plastic than others, which can reduce opportunities to use recycled content.

Status Ongoing

Consumer hardware products

Target

Make product packaging 100% plastic-free by 2025.

Target year

2025

2023

For new Google products launched and manufactured in 2023, our packaging was at least 99% plastic-free,9 an increase from at least 96% plastic-free packaging in 2022, primarily due to packaging innovations.9

Status Ongoing

Stay informed

Stay up to date on our news and progress.

    Our reports

    To scale impact, we have created tools and case studies to help others adopt some of the approaches that have worked for us.10

    Cover image of 2024 Environmental Report

    2024 environment

    2024 Environmental Report

    Cover image of Alphabet’s 2023 CDP Climate Change Response

    2023 General

    Alphabet’s 2023 CDP Climate Change Response

    Cover image of the 2023 Responsible Supply Chain Report

    2023 Supplier responsibility

    2023 Supplier Responsibility Report

    Cover image of a white paper titled: Accelerating Climate Action with AI

    2023 General

    Accelerating Climate Action with AI

    1 We aim to reduce 50% of our combined Scope 1, Scope 2 (market-based), and Scope 3 absolute emissions (compared to our 2019 base year) by 2030, and we plan to invest in nature-based and technology-based carbon removal solutions to neutralize our remaining emissions.
    2 Carbon-free energy is any type of electricity generation that doesn’t directly emit carbon dioxide, including (but not limited to) solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, and nuclear. Sustainable biomass and carbon capture and storage (CCS) are special cases considered on a case-by-case basis, but are often also considered carbon-free energy sources.
    3 Scope: Annual freshwater replenished at our offices and Google-owned and -operated data centers, excluding seawater and reclaimed wastewater.

    4 We contracted a third-party to estimate replenishment benefits using the Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA) methodology (Reig et al., 2019).

    5 We consider “Zero Waste to Landfill“ for our data center operations to mean that more than 90% of waste is diverted from landfill and incineration, in line with industry standards. As of 2023, our waste diversion methodology considers thermally processed waste (i.e., incineration), with or without energy recovery, as waste disposal.
    6 In 2023, we adjusted our methodology for calculating waste generated and diversion for our data centers—for more details, see Reducing data center waste in the Circular economy section. These changes are reflected for 2023, but not for prior years. 2022 performance (38%) is based on our previous methodology and is not comparable year-over-year. Had we not made these methodology changes, we estimate that our reported 2023 percentage of data centers to reach Zero Waste to Landfill would have been 43%, or a 5% increase compared to our reported 2022 percentage.
    7 Based on total plastic weight of Google Pixel, Nest, Chromecast, and Fitbit products manufactured in 2023. This does not include plastics in printed circuit boards, labels, cables, connectors, electronic components and modules, optical components, electrostatic discharge (ESD) components, electromagnetic interference (EMI) components, films, coatings, and adhesives.
    8 Based on total plastic weight of Google Pixel, Nest, and Chromecast products manufactured in 2022. This does not include plastics in printed circuit boards, labels, cables, connectors, electronic components and modules, optical components, electrostatic discharge (ESD) components, electromagnetic interference (EMI) components, films, coatings, and adhesives.
    9 Based on total weight of new Google Pixel and Fitbit retail packaging (excluding adhesive materials and required plastic stickers) as shipped by Google. To meet the request of some retail partners, stickers and/or security tags are applied to some packaging variations and may contain plastic.
    10 Sustainability has been a core value for Google since our founding, and our environmental reporting and thinking has evolved over the years. Please refer to our latest Environmental Report for our most current methodology and approach.