In the 2013 International Energy Agency’s Key World Energy Statistics report, between 1973 and 2011, the global energy consumption has almost doubled, and it is still increasing each year.
In the past few years alone, we’ve witnessed a conscious effort by governments, organizations, companies and individuals to improve the way we use energy resources.
Image courtesty of International Energy Agency
Many companies have taken steps to “go green” by eliminating paper billing, using less water, installing hand-dryers instead of using paper towel and other environmentally-conscious efforts.
Still, many companies, especially fortune 500 companies, are targets for energy conservationists because the bigger the corporation, the more energy they consume.
But not all companies are wasteful!
Most companies must adhere to strict government laws for emissions. But many companies are going above and beyond what is required.
Below are just five examples of the huge efforts being made by some of the world’s biggest companies to improve energy efficiency.
Apple
Apple does a very good job of being up-front when it comes to their emissions. According to their website, in 2013, Apple’s carbon footprint totalled 33.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. And they will be the first to tell you how that makes the company look.
The environment section of Apple’s website reads:
“We’re always trying to improve the way we conduct our greenhouse gas life cycle analysis. And when our assessments reveal a material, process, or system that’s making a significant negative impact on our carbon footprint, we re-examine how we design that product, process, or facility.
Our goal is to power all Apple corporate offices, retail stores, and data centers entirely with energy from renewable sources — solar, wind, micro‑hydro, and geothermal, which uses heat right from the earth.”
Apple has converted a huge portion of its operations to use renewable energy, including:
- 73 percent of the energy for their facilities
- 86 percent for their corporate campuses
- 100 percent for their data centers
- 140 U.S. retail stores
In 2016, Apple’s new headquarters, known as Apple Campus 2, is designed to function using 100 percent renewable energy sources. Some of the key environmental highlights are:
- Just under 80 percent of the site will be open space
- The property will be populated by over 7000 trees
- They will offer energy-efficient transportation options for staff including biofuel buses, public transit, bicycles, and carpools as well as over 300 electric vehicle charging stations.
Just in case you aren’t convinced of Apple’s efforts, here’s a video from their YouTube channel, titled “Better”, which reinforces their commitment to the environment:
Microsoft
In 2012, Microsoft made a huge commitment to the world. According to their website, their goal is to make their “operations carbon neutral: to achieve net zero emissions for our data centers, software development labs, offices, and employee business air travel in over 100 countries around the world.”
In addition, they have also invested in two wind power projects:
- The Keechi Wind Project (110MW)
- The Pilot Hill Wind Project (175 MW)
These projects are designed to transform their energy supply toward more renewable resources.
Microsoft is also designing and implementing energy-smart buildings. These buildings are designed with one goal in mind: reducing the energy used. This includes revamping networks, security, and energy management.
According to their whitepaper, “Microsoft’s internal Sustainability Champion Program10 is expected to reduce plug load by 3-5 percent and will be leveraging the smart building solutions automated reporting features”. Here is Microsoft’s video about energy-smart buildings:
Wal-Mart
At their Global Sustainability Milestone Meeting, Wal-Mart declared that they had two major goals that they wanted to achieve by the end of 2020:
- Drive the production or procurement of 7 billion kWh of renewable energy globally every year, a 600 percent increase over 2010 levels.
- Reduce the kWh/sq. ft. energy intensity required to power Walmart’s buildings globally by 20 percent compared to 2010 levels.
For a big conglomerate, this is NOT an easy task.
Walmart President and CEO Mike Duke said in a press release:
“More than ever, we know that our goal to be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy is the right goal and that marrying up renewables with energy efficiency is especially powerful.
The math adds up pretty quickly – when we use less energy that’s less energy we have to buy, and that means less waste and more savings. These new commitments will make us a stronger business, and they’re great for our communities and the environment.”
If Wal-Mart achieves their goals, the energy that they save could be equal to eliminating roughly two fossil fuel power plants in the US, and generate more than US$1 billion annually in energy savings once fully implemented.
In 2013, Wal-Mart released this video on YouTube to shed light on their renewable energy commitment:
Google has severely stepped up their efficiency in the past few years. They are working hard towards operating on 100 percent renewable energy.
Currently, Google has managed to convert 34 percent of their operations to use renewable energy sources. Some other key facts include:
- Google data centers use an average of 50 percent less energy than typical data centers.
- A business using their Gmail service can decrease their environmental impact by up to 98 percent.
In fact, Google’s efforts have earned them a few awards, including the 2011 EPA award for green energy leadership and back-to-back (2012/2013) accolades from Greenpeace for top rank cool IT leaderboard
Not only is Google striving to improve their own operations, but they’ve also invested over US$1 billion to renewable energy projects around the world. Last year, Google released this video about their investment in the Atlantic Wind Connection, the US’ first offshore backbone electric transmission system:
Samsung
Last but certainly not least, Samsung has definitely taken steps to become more energy efficient. Samsung has reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 50 percent between 2008 and 2013. By 2015, they hope to decrease their emissions by an additional 24 percent.
Between 2011 and 2012 alone, Samsung increased their reliance on renewable energy sources by over 12 percent, according to their website. In the US alone, Samsung has converted over 3 percent of its power consumption with renewable energy.
Though they focus most of their attention on Korea where 90 percent of their emissions is generated, they also have plans for other parts of the world too. Below is their video on how they are planning on investing US$7 billion towards creating a more clean-energy future in Canada:
