Our Progress

Our efforts are designed to help us all get the most out of technology, without using more resources.

Overview

Designing efficient data centers, accelerating our transition to carbon-free energy, creating sustainable workplaces, building better devices and services, and empowering users with technology help ensure a cleaner, healthier future for generations to come.

Aerial photograph of the green landscape of Açores, Portugal

Learn how we are operating our business in an environmentally sustainable way.

Carbon-free energy

Accelerating the transition to carbon-free energy.

In 2007, we became carbon neutral for our operations and in 2017, we became the first company of our size to match 100% of our global, annual electricity consumption with renewable energy. Over the past decade, Google purchased more renewable energy than any other company. Now, we’re carving a path forward to decarbonize our electricity supply and operate on 24/7 carbon-free energy, everywhere, by 2030.

Learn more about carbon-free energy
$3.3 billion
From 2010 to 2021, we made commitments to invest nearly $3.3 billion in renewable energy projects with an expected combined capacity of approximately 8.7 GW. These targeted investments go beyond our purchases of renewable energy for our own operational footprint.
7 GW
More than 7 GW (or 7,000 MW) of renewable energy projects under contract around the world

Data Centers

Efficient data centers help us better serve our users, in a more sustainable way.

For more than a decade, we’ve worked to make Google data centers some of the most efficient in the world by designing, building, and operating each one to maximize efficient use of energy, water, and materials, improving their environmental performance even as demand for our products has risen.

78%
In 2021, we diverted 78% of waste from our global data center operations away from landfills.
2x
On average, a Google data center is twice as energy efficient as a typical enterprise data center

Workplaces

Creating sustainable workplaces is good for people and the environment.

We focus on the user when we’re designing products, and we focus on our employees when we’re creating the healthiest possible workplaces.

15 acres
From 2014 to 2021, we restored and created 15 acres of native habitat on our Bay Area campuses to support wildlife and our communities.
4,000
We have nearly 4,000 EV charging ports at our offices in the United States and Canada.

Devices & Services

Building products that will leave people, the planet, and our communities better than we found them.

Integrating sustainability into our products, operations and communities is an ongoing endeavor that involves designing in sustainability from the start and embedding it into the entire product development process, all while creating the products our customers want.

All Nest and Pixel devices launched since 2020 include recycled materials.1

100%
All shipments of Google consumer hardware products to and from direct customers are carbon neutral and have been since 2019.

Empowering technology

Empowering users with technology means we can do more, together.

We meet the challenges posed by climate change by working to empower everyone—businesses, governments, nonprofit organizations, communities, and individuals—to use Google technology to create a more sustainable world.

42,000
By the end of 2021, nearly 42,000 cities and regions worldwide were covered by the Environmental Insights Explorer, a tool that empowers city planners and policymakers with actionable data to help reduce global emissions.

Supplier Responsibility

A responsible supply chain isn't just the right thing to do for people and the planet — it's also good for business.

We're committed to minimizing our environmental impact and improving the lives of all people who make our products. We expect the highest ethical standards throughout our supply chain and promote meaningful social change at supplier sites and nearby communities.

Learn more about supplier responsibility
Man with glasses smiling and wearing a red and grey sweatshirt, working on a computer in a facility

Learn about our supplier responsibility program

2022 Supplier Responsibility Report

  • Supplier Code of Conduct

    Supplier Code of Conduct

    We created the Google Supplier Code of Conduct to ensure that our high standards for protecting workers and the environment are upheld by every supplier involved in our operations. It builds upon Google’s core values and beliefs as well as our internal employee Code of Conduct, safety standards, environmental standards, and contract requirements.

    View policy (opens in a new window)
  • Conflict Minerals Report

    Conflict Minerals Report

    Most electronics contain tantalum, tin, tungsten and/or gold. These metals can be sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries where a decades-long civil war is being waged and where various groups are fighting to control the mineral trade. We believe it is essential to establish in-region conflict-free sources of these metals to protect human rights.

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  • Supplier Responsibility Report

    Supplier Responsibility Report

    We work with more than 500 suppliers worldwide to manufacture hardware components for our data centers, consumer devices, and other related products. We are committed to ethical and fair treatment for workers, safe and healthy workplaces and a smaller environmental footprint.

    View report (opens in a new window)
  • Statement Against Modern Slavery

    Statement Against Modern Slavery

    “Modern slavery” – recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for compelled labor or commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud, or coercion – is estimated to involve as many as 40 million victims today. We are committed to ensuring that modern slavery is not taking place in our supply chains and business operations, and have developed programs and processes to accomplish exactly that.

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Explore tools and technology for sustainability at scale

Technology

Use our experience to guide sustainability in your organization

For partners
1 Nest and Pixel devices are designed with 9%–68% recycled content across their respective plastic parts in 2020 and 2021. This does not include plastics in printed circuit boards, labels, cables, connectors, electronic components and modules, optical components, electrostatic discharge components, electromagnetic interference components, films, coatings, and adhesives. The aluminum in the enclosure of Pixel 5 is 100% recycled content. (Back housing only. Recycled aluminum is approximately 58% of the Pixel 5 enclosure based on weight.) The aluminum in the housing of Pixel 6 is 100% recycled content. (Recycled aluminum (in the housing and other recycled aluminum components) is approximately 14% of product based on weight.)