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Google to be carbon neutral by year end
mongabay.com
June 20, 2007


Google Inc. aims to be carbon neutral by the end of 2007, according to a statement posted on the Official Google Blog.

The search giant plans to fight global warming by investing in and using renewable energy sources; reducing energy consumption by maximizing efficiency, and purchasing carbon offsets for the greenhouse gas emissions that it cannot reduce directly.

"Climate change continues to be one of the biggest, most challenging problems our planet faces, and we know that a sustained global effort is needed if we're going to have any hope of reversing its effects," stated the Official Google Blog. "In that spirit, today we're announcing that Google will become carbon neutral by the end of 2007. This is an important step in our long-term pursuit of holistic environmental solutions."

"In order to meet our short-term goal of carbon neutrality, we have decided to purchase some carbon offsets. To be clear, we see carbon offsets not as a permanent solution but rather as a temporary tool which allows us to take full responsibility for our impact right away. By investing in projects elsewhere in the world that cut the overall amount of greenhouse gases, we can help reduce climate impact now while we develop more sustainable strategies for the future. When considering an offset project, we carefully examine the project's environmental integrity, its ability to be monitored and verified, and the impact that our investment will have in furthering that project's goals. In other words, we want to make sure that our offset funding directly enables the project, and that the carbon savings of the project are real."

Monday Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, announced it would invest $10 million in the development of vehicle-to-grid (plug-in hybrid) technologies. Plug-in hybrids, which can augment the electrical grid by feeding in electrical at peak hours, are seen as an attractive way to reduce demand for oil and cut carbon dioxide emissions. Last week Google announced the Climate Savers Computing initiative to improve computing energy-efficiency standards.

Google says its reductions, which account for emissions from purchased electricity, employee commuting, business travel, construction, and server manufacturing, will be verified by the Environmental Resources Trust.

The company notes that its calculations include offsets for its new $600 million data center in western Iowa that will be powered by a coal-fired plant.

"We're equally committed to finding and developing new green technologies and sources of energy," said Google. "We just completed our solar panel installation in Mountain View, the single-largest corporate solar installation in the U.S. to date. We've also joined the World Resources Institute's Green Power Market Development Group, so we can work with other companies to make more green power available to everyone. And of course Google.org is working on creative new initiatives, including plug-in hybrid cars. In addition, we've set ourselves the ambitious goal of creating 50 megawatts of new renewable generation capacity--enough to power 50,000 typical U.S. homes--by 2012."

Google is actively investigating new renewable energy technologies including one that converts industrial waste into oil.

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