Facebook has announced a commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 75 per cent and power its global operations with 100 per cent renewable energy by the end of 2020.
Since the company’s first purchase of wind power in 2013, it has signed contracts for more than 3GW of new solar and wind energy, including more than 2500MW in the past 12 months.
“In a record-breaking year of corporate renewable energy purchases, Facebook is on track to be one of the largest corporate purchasers of renewable energy,” the company said in a statement.
“We are proud of the impact our renewable energy program is having on local communities and the market in general.
“All of these wind and solar projects are new and on the same grid as our data centres. That means each of these projects brings jobs, investment and a healthier environment to the communities that host us.”
In 2015, Facebook set a goal of supporting 50 per cent of its facilities with renewable energy by 2018.
The company achieved the goal a year early, reaching 51 per cent clean and renewable energy in 2017.
“We bring an open and innovative approach to finding renewable energy solutions that fit our needs and can move energy markets forward,” the statement said.
“We do this by working to enable access to renewable energy resources for other companies and organisations by building infrastructure, opening projects to other buyers or establishing green tariffs, which allow customers to buy renewable energy from their local utilities.”
Last year, Facebook pledged its support for climate action by supporting the Paris Agreement through the We Are Still In initiative.
