Summary Bullets:
• Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce to pursue nature-based carbon removal procurement in their sustainability efforts, and to encourage others to follow suit.
• Large tech companies continue to lead in the battle against climate change, whilst also being major consumers of energy, water, and other natural resources.
Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce have formed the Symbiosis Coalition, which aims to facilitate an “advanced market commitment” (AMC) of up to 20 million tons of nature-based carbon removal credits (defined as “measurable, verifiable emission reductions from certified climate action projects”). The agreement is believed to be “the first and largest AMC ever” (surely being the first, it must be the largest…) for nature-based carbon removal, equating in volume to the 2030 carbon removal goals of the state of California.
In addition to demonstrating their commitment to compensating for the damage they do to the environment, this alliance of tech companies is looking to encourage others to follow suit – and best practice – by finding as many ways as possible to compensate for the damage their operations cause. This is important as the carbon removal market is often described as dodgy. For example, an international team of scientists and economists from the University of Cambridge and VU Amsterdam found that “millions of carbon credits are based on crude calculations that inflate the conservation successes of voluntary REDD+ (a UN term: ‘reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries’ while ‘+’ is for additional forest-related climate activities) projects. Consequently, many tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions considered offset by trees that would not otherwise exist have, in fact only added to the planetary carbon debt.”
The Coalition appears to take this skepticism on board and admits that “nature-based projects are complex and challenging to get right,” committing to be transparent and to work with external experts to ensure that an optimal and vibrant carbon market “with nature at the forefront” can be formed and joined by other companies over time.
Microsoft recently reported that it has increased its carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 30% since 2020, largely due to its Scope 3 (indirect) emissions from the actual construction of data centers, let alone the additional energy and water usage from increased demand as a result of artificial intelligence (AI). The company is in the process of signing up large energy contracts where suppliers are committed to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2030.
Another recent multi-tech collaboration was announced between Orange Business and Cisco in February 2024, where the partners agreed on a joint action plan to help reduce their GHG emissions sharing data to integrate into emissions calculations, which can then further be shared with enterprise customers. As part of the agreement, the two companies also committed to circular economy best practices, including refurbishing and recycling products.
IT Connection 