Skip to content
Visit sustainability.google
Visit sustainability.google
Google logo

1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 2028 2030

Back to today

1998

Sustainability has been a core value since our founding.

Explore our sustainability mission
“Rising to the climate challenge involves a complex mix of policy, technology, and international cooperation. This won’t be easy, but Google is committed to doing its part.”
A hallway in a Google office with skylights, wall-hung plants and chairs

2007

For the first time, we purchased enough high-quality carbon offsets for the emissions that we couldn’t reduce directly, bringing our net annual emissions to zero.

Learn about our carbon offsets
Overhead view of a field adjacent to rows of solar panels

2010

We were the first tech company to buy renewable energy at scale through PPAs, helping increase the availability of clean energy while driving down the price.

Illustration of windmill, tree, and the sun overlaid on a document icon
A power purchase agreement, or PPA, is a contract to buy power from a particular facility over a period of time at a negotiated price.
Source
Learn more about our first PPA

2017

We were the first company of our size to match 100% of our electricity use with renewable energy, and we’ve repeated it every year since.

Illustration of a globe featuring icons of a windmill and electrical current
What do we mean by matching renewable energy? For every kilowatt hour of electricity we consumed across the globe, we purchased a kilowatt hour of renewable energy.
Source
Read about our road to 100% renewable energy
Windmills in a grassy area under a blue sky

2019

We made the largest corporate purchase of renewable energy of its time — a 1.6 GW package of 18 new energy deals — becoming the world’s largest annual corporate purchaser of renewable energy.

See how we’re using renewable energy
“With 24/7 carbon-free energy, we’re going far beyond offsetting carbon or matching our global electricity consumption with renewable energy; we’re working to decarbonize our electricity supply entirely.”

2020

We became the first major company to neutralize our entire legacy carbon emissions.

Learn more about our third decade of climate action
Aerial photograph of windmills connected by service roads in a green field

Setting the pace on climate action

We were the first major company to achieve carbon neutrality and match 100% of our annual electricity use with renewable energy.

Illustration of a balance with a smokestack on one side and plant leaves on the other
Carbon neutrality means that the carbon emissions caused by something is balanced out by supporting the reduction of an equivalent amount of carbon savings elsewhere in the world.
Source
Four-panel illustration that shows a windmill, the sun behind a cloud, tress, and a waterfall
Renewable energy is collected from sources that are naturally replenished, such as wind and solar.
Source
See how we got here

Working together to create a carbon-free future for everyone.

See where we're going
A person stands at a nature preserve overlook with a dog
Clear waters reflect the beauty of our Eemshaven, Netherlands data center

Taking collective action on climate

Our 24/7 carbon-free energy program aims to eliminate emissions associated with our operational electricity use and run on clean energy every hour of every day by 2030.

Illustration of a lightbulb, a windmill and a battery to signify carbon neutrality
If an energy source is carbon free, it generates no carbon emissions. This includes carbon-free technologies like large-scale battery storage and carbon capture, as well as renewable resources.
Source
“Operating on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030 is our biggest sustainability moonshot yet, with enormous practical and technical complexity. We are the first major company that's set out to do this, and we aim to be the first to achieve it.”
Clear waters reflect the beauty of our Eemshaven, Netherlands data center

2021

We signed the world’s first corporate agreement for next-generation geothermal energy.

Learn more about this geothermal power project
A worker builds and inspects a Nest thermostat

2022

By 2022, we're committed to offering 1 billion people new ways to live more sustainably via our core products.

See how we're helping everyone make more sustainable choices

2025

20,000 clean energy jobs will have been supported by Google’s carbon-free energy contracts, clean technology partnerships, and other steps taken to achieve 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030.

Read more about our commitments
“By 2030, we aim to invest in key manufacturing regions to enable 5GW of new carbon-free energy, and to help more than 500 cities reduce their carbon emissions.”
A European Google data center with wind turbines in the background

2030

Carbon-free energy 24/7

As we continue to learn and collaborate on ways to achieve our goals — such as harnessing next-generation geothermal energy and implementing carbon-intelligent computing — we hope to show that a carbon-free future is achievable for everyone.

Our latest efforts