Top 7 Tech Companies Using Green Energy

Top 7 Tech Companies Using Green Energy

Tech companies are out there leading the way in the development of new technologies, but that’s not all they’re doing, they are also leading the charge for a cleaner safer climate. In this article, I have compiled a list of the top tech companies that are doing their utmost to operate in an environment that is green and clean.

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1. Google

Google is one of the biggest proponents of green energy, probably in the entire world; they transitioned over to a carbon neutral company in 2007. According to reports from its Google Green site, it is said that Google data centers use 50% of the energy typically used in a data center, and the company buys 879 million kWh of renewable energy each year. Google has a very ambitious plan of making renewable energy the only kind of power they use.

Google is also looking at new and innovative ways of making renewable energy more accessible to the masses by investing over $2 billion in projects spanning wind, solar, data center design and electrical grids.

2. Dell

Dell has worked actively in the area of decreasing the energy output of their data centres and hardware components, and has also looked at things on an environmental front.

When it comes recycling and packaging, Dell has become one of the leading innovators. In the year 2014, Dell launched its new 202 Legacy of Good plan.

This legacy plan has set goals which will see Dell reduce its greenhouse gas emissions from logistics operations and facilities, as well as decrease the energy intensity of all its products by around 80%.

The company has a number of additional environmental goals that it hopes to achieve, but only time will tell whether or not it’s able to actually achieve them.

3. Sony

Sony is one of the world’s biggest purchases of green energy, using in excess of 88 million kWh per year. This is enough power for it to meet around 40% of its overall annual energy requirements. For such a big organisation, this is definitely commendable. The main concern of Sony when it comes to green energy is looking at ways that it can decrease the negative environmental impact.

Sony purchase of renewable energy is one of its most important steps on the road to reducing adverse impacts on the environment. With the purchase of this kind of energy, Sony can become an ambassador of green energy, encouraging others to do the same.

4. IBM

IBM is one company that has been in this game for a long time. It’s been an advocate of green energy since 1967, issuing its first policy way back then.

IBM state on their site that they will use the development and manufacturing processes that do not have such an adverse effect on our environment, this includes improving and developing technologies that minimise waste, and prevent both water, air and other forms of pollution, minimising the amount of risk on our health and safety and disposing of this waste in the best way possible.

When it comes to the companies successes and failures in environmental policy, IBM have been very open, going as far as to give details on the effectiveness of their policies.

5. Apple

In the year 2014, Apple converted all its operations within the US to renewable energy, and the company hopes that in the future, it will use a carbon-neutral footprint across its entire company chain, this according to its 2015 environmental policy. Apple has been very proactive to that end by purchasing solar farms to make its data centers self-sustainable and planting and conserving forests in order to offset its use of paper for packaging. Apple retail stores are also not left out, with 360 of its 450 stores worldwide, running 100% on renewable energy.

6. Adobe

Adobe has for a long time been heavy into green energy, whether it’s by focusing on waste reduction, green buildings or energy conservations.

Adobe was one of several founding members of the U.S Green Building Council, and has also invested a lot of capital into renewable energy technologies, such as Bloom Energy fuel cells, and Wind turbines.

7. Microsoft

Microsoft currently uses more than 1.3 billion kWh of green energy every year, making it the largest consumer of renewable energy in the entire world. In the year 2012, a carbon fee charging business group was introduced for every unit of carbon produced, with the aim of creating a carbon-neutral model. Microsoft also has plans of making its cloud data centers totally green, by focusing on site location and choice, lessening the adverse effect it has on the environment, improving efficiency, and increasing the amount of renewable energy that is used. To achieve this ambitious objective, Microsoft created the position of the Director for Data Center Sustainability and hired Jim Hanna to lead it.

–AUTHOR INFO—

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is a former IT Manager who now runs his own computer support website http://www.compuchenna.co.uk/