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Google Businesses Earth

Google Pledges Carbon-Neutral Shipping, Recycled Plastic For All Devices (reuters.com) 45

Posted by msmash from the up-next dept.
Alphabet's Google on Monday announced that it would neutralize carbon emissions from delivering consumer hardware by next year and include recycled plastic in each of its products by 2022. From a report: The new commitments step up the competition among tech companies aiming to show consumers and governments that they are curbing the environmental toll from their widening arrays of gadgets. Anna Meegan, head of sustainability for Google's devices and services unit, said in an interview that the company's transport-related carbon emissions per unit fell 40% last year compared to 2017 by relying more on ships instead of planes to move phones, speakers, laptops and other gadgets from factories to customers across the world. The company will offset remaining emissions by purchasing carbon credits, Meegan said.
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Google Pledges Carbon-Neutral Shipping, Recycled Plastic For All Devices More

Google Pledges Carbon-Neutral Shipping, Recycled Plastic For All Devices

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  • Obviously, this isn't all of Google's CO2 footprint. In particular, their server farms take a massive energy amount both in terms of running and cooling. But this is a good step in the right direction. And the fact that Google pledged to this after they've already fulfilled their previous pledges to reduce CO2 use shows that they are serious and this isn't just an attempt to claim that they are going to be environmentally friendly without bothering to do anything to back it up. Good for them.

    • Offsetting the remaining emissions by purchasing carbon credits (as mentioned in the article) is great. Sadly only the EU has implemented the carbon credit system.

      • Offsetting the remaining emissions by purchasing carbon credits (as mentioned in the article) is great. Sadly only the EU has implemented the carbon credit system.

        California also has a carbon credit system.

    • Obviously, this isn't all of Google's CO2 footprint. In particular, their server farms take a massive energy amount both in terms of running and cooling.

      Google has been working on net-zero carbon for data centers for years, and achieved it in 2017 [www.blog.google]. So, the data center footprint is already net zero.

      However, "net zero" isn't exactly the same as "zero", because it allows for buying non-renewable power to operate, then offsetting that by funding renewable power generation for others. The company is now working on a plan [googleapis.com] to fix that so that all data centers are powered directly by 100% renewables.

  • It's about time.

    Now lets shoot for zero plastic.

    I understand that a big part of it is the responsibility of the manufacturers themselves but packaging in general has gotten WAYYY out of control.

    I really don't need plastic wrapped in cardboard wrapped in plastic wrapped in cardboard, stuffed into another cardboard box, surrounded by plastic and paper, all inside a cardboard box.

    I open up one small, sometimes not even fragile item to find myself besides a mountain of waste.

    It's dumb.

  • A package from Seattle to Tacoma has to go through Atlanta.

  • Will they take the useless devices back when they discontinue the network services that make them work?

    • Will they take the useless devices back when they discontinue the network services that make them work?

      They sure as shit should, even if they bought them back for a couple of dollars, a discount towards the next iteration, or simply return postage they could probably save a ton money. The marketing alone would generate then millions.

      "We've finally started to do the responsible, economically friendly, business savvy thing to do! Buy our shit"

    • As they bank their profit in Ireland it would only seem fair that they adhere to EU rules https://ec.europa.eu/environme... [europa.eu]

  • ...are essentially the Get-out-of-jail-free card for rich people.

    • ...are essentially the Get-out-of-jail-free card for rich people.

      I agree. People like Leonardo DiCaprio go on these global warming rants to justify their plane trips and big houses. These people take a tiny portion of their income to pay other people to plant some trees somewhere in Africa so they can say that they paid for their sins. This is the modern sale of indulgences.

      I'll believe that global warming is a real threat when these assholes start acting like it's a real threat. They buy these carbon credits to fly over the ocean for a weekend on the beach, with a

      • Your logic is part of the problem, unfortunately. Please don't judge whether humans are causing global warming based on the actions of Leonardo DiCaprio or Al Gore. Judge it based on the underlying science, for which there is very compelling evidence. Just because the wealthy people lecturing you about global warming won't scale back their lavish lifestyles doesn't mean the scientists are wrong. The Earth receives very nearly as much solar energy as it loses to space as outgoing longwave radiation. When th

      • Only being able to believe the science behind global warming if Leonardo Di Caprio buys algea jet fuel, seems to the casual observer as a somewhat irrational position to take.

        • Well said

        • Only being able to believe the science behind global warming if Leonardo Di Caprio buys algea jet fuel, seems to the casual observer as a somewhat irrational position to take.

          Do you believe that burning vast quantities of petroleum based aviation fuel on a private jet is rational for someone that believes global warming from the burning of petroleum fuel is a problem for the future of civilization?

          Leo is not unique in this hypocrisy, he's just one of many hypocrites but perhaps the most prominent today. These people are not taking seriously the "science" they speak so passionately about. I do believe that they have listened to the science and the science tells them what it tel

      • I won't defend anyone's hypocrisy, but there is a big difference between indulgences and carbon credits. One is useless, the other isn't.

  • Are we talking post-consumer recycled plastic, or post-oceanic-trash recycled plastic, or just pre-consumer the-stuff-left-on-the-shop-floor recycled plastic?

    Carbon neutral shipping is a good goal, but is it we-pay-China-to-plant-trees-they-already-planted or is it we-require-ships-to-use-biodiesel-instead-of-bunker-fuel and no-airplanes-unless-electric-or-turboprops carbon neutral shipping?

  • How about instead, they equip their phones with user-removable batteries and software updates for 5 years.

    Think about how much plastic/metal/glass/paper waste THAT move saves.

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