sustainability.google Open in urlscan Pro
2001:4860:4802:34::15  Public Scan

Form analysis
1 forms found in the DOM

GET search/

<form role="search" class="search search--desktop js-search-form" method="get" action="search/">
  <input placeholder="Search Google Sustainability" class="search--input js-search-input ga-search" data-ga-search-init="search_initiated" type="text" name="query" id="search-bar-id" maxlength="128" required="" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off"
    aria-label="Search Google Sustainability">
  <button type="button" class="search--submit search--button js-search-button" aria-label="Submit Search">
    <svg aria-hidden="true" class="search--icon" role="presentation">
      <use href="/static/img/glue-icons.svg#search"></use>
    </svg>
  </button>
  <button class="search--close search--button js-search-close-button" type="button" aria-label="Close" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">
    <svg aria-hidden="true" class="search--icon" role="presentation">
      <use href="/static/img/glue-icons.svg#close"></use>
    </svg>
  </button>
</form>

Text Content

sustainability.google uses cookies from Google to deliver and enhance the
quality of its services and to analyze traffic. Learn more.

Hide
Jump to Content

Sustainability

Sustainability
 * Empowering individuals
 * Working together
   * Overview
   * Tools
 * Operating sustainably
   * Overview
   * Net-zero carbon
   * Water stewardship
   * Circular economy
   * Nature & biodiversity
   * Stories
 * Reports




©2023 Aerodata International Surveys, Maxar Technologies

©2023 GeoBasis-DE/BKG, GeoContent, Maxar Technologies

©2023 Maxar Technologies, USDA Farm Service Agency


How to be more sustainable
 * while traveling
 * while commuting
 * on a road trip

How to be more sustainable while traveling while commuting on a road trip


EMISSION ESTIMATES

When searching for a flight, Google helps you factor environmental impact into
your decision. Carbon emission estimates are available for nearly every flight
on Google Flights.


TRAVALYST COALITION

As a part of this group, Google is leading development of a standardized way to
calculate carbon emissions for air travel.

View Story


ECO-CERTIFIED HOTELS

Before you book your stay, Google Search makes it easy to find more sustainable
options where you’re traveling.


ECO-CERTIFIED BADGE

This badge signifies a hotel meets high sustainability standards, and you can
learn more about their efforts in the “About” tab.

View Story


CLIMATE-FRIENDLIER OPTIONS

Compared to flying, taking a bus or train can be more cost-effective,
convenient, and sustainable. It’s not always possible to avoid flying, but
consider which flights you take - some flights pollute less than others.


71%

Percentage of surveyed travelers wanting to make more sustainable choices,
according to a 2022 Booking.com survey.

View Story



FUEL-EFFICIENT ROUTES

When you need to drive, Google Maps will let you choose the most fuel- or
energy-efficient route – if it isn’t already the fastest one, which can help
reduce emissions.1


500,000 FUEL-BASED CARS

Since launching in October 2021, we estimate fuel-efficient routing has helped
prevent more than 2.4 million metric tons of CO2e emissions — the equivalent of
taking approximately 500,000 fuel-based cars off the road for a year.2

Learn more


FUEL-EFFICIENT VEHICLES

With Google Search, you can compare electric and hybrid cars against gas-powered
models to understand the cost of more sustainable options before you buy.


FUEL COST CALCULATOR

A search tool that allows users to see emissions estimates, and annual fuel
costs for different vehicles.3

View Story


ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION

Transportation accounts for one-fifth of global carbon emissions, and almost
half of these come from gas-powered passenger vehicles, according to Our World
in Data. Google Maps provides routes for alternate transportation options
including public transit, cycling, and scooters.


500

Number of cities worldwide in which Google provides bike and scooter share
information.

View Story



FUEL SAVINGS

Fuel-efficient routing in Google Maps shows you the route that can save you the
most fuel by considering factors such as road incline, stops, engine type, and
traffic predictions, because contrary to popular belief, the most fuel-efficient
route is not always the fastest or the shortest.


FUEL-EFFICIENT ROUTING

This feature helps drivers find the most fuel-efficient routes using insights
from the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and data
from the European Environment Agency.4

View Story


CHARGING STATIONS

For EV drivers with vehicles that have Google built-in, Google Maps will suggest
the best stop based on factors like current traffic, your charge level and
expected energy consumption. Maps will also show when places like a supermarket
have charging stations on-site.5


“VERY FAST” CHARGE

This charging filter in vehicles with Google built-in helps drivers find
charging stations with chargers of 150 kilowatts or higher to get many cars back
on the road in less than 40 minutes.

View Story


STREAMLINED TRAVEL

For some trips, taking a train might be the more sustainable option. You can now
shop for train tickets directly on Google Search, for travel in and around
select countries.6


“BERLIN TO VIENNA TRAINS”

In select countries, enter this type of query on Search and you’ll find an easy
way to browse train schedules and ticket prices.

View Story



LEADING THE TRANSITION TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE THROUGH INFORMATION AND
INNOVATION



At Google we have a unique opportunity to empower individuals, organizations and
governments with the data and tools they need to drive positive action for our
planet.

That means using our products and platforms to help people make more sustainable
choices, and working together with our partners to help reduce their emissions
and advance transformative technology for a carbon-free future. It also means
using our deep legacy in research and the breakthroughs we’re making in AI to
accelerate innovation that can tackle climate change.

We know that we also have a responsibility to address our own carbon footprint.

As we enter our third decade of climate action, we’re setting ambitious goals
for ourselves. We’re pursuing net-zero emissions7 across our operations and
value chain by 2030. This is supported by our ambitious clean energy goal to
operate our data centers and office campuses on 24/7 carbon-free energy, such as
solar and wind.8

We expect this new era in technology to open up new, even bigger opportunities
to accelerate system-level change. It’s a big part of the reason we’re
optimistic about what’s possible in the years ahead.


Nest thermostats help people save energy at home
The Rødby Fjord solar project adds carbon-free energy to the grid that powers
our data center in Fredericia, Denmark
Nest thermostats help people save energy at home


EVERY ACTION COUNTS

If we work together towards a more sustainable future, there’s no limit to what
we can achieve.


DISCOVER WAYS TO TAKE ACTION

See how our products can help you make more sustainable choices.

Learn more Learn more


SUPPORT YOUR ORGANIZATION

Get the information you need to make thoughtful decisions around reducing your
organization's emissions and achieving your sustainability goals.

Learn more Learn more


SEE WHAT WE’RE DOING

Learn how we’re driving innovation in climate and clean energy through our own
operations.

Learn more Learn more


WORKING TOGETHER TOWARDS 1 GT

Through our products, we aim to help individuals, cities, and other partners
collectively reduce 1 gigaton of their carbon dioxide equivalent emissions
annually by 2030.

Google Maps


CHOOSE THE MOST FUEL-EFFICIENT ROUTE

Learn more

Google Shopping


SHOP FOR MORE EFFICIENT APPLIANCES FOR YOUR HOME

Learn more

Google Flights


FIND A FLIGHT WITH LOWER PER-TRAVELER CARBON EMISSIONS

Learn more

Google Nest


MAKE AN IMPACT RIGHT FROM HOME

Learn more

Google Earth Engine


EXPLORE EARTH SCIENCE DATA ANALYSIS AT A PLANETARY SCALE

Learn more

Environmental Insights Explorer


BUILD A RESILIENT, SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR YOUR CITY OR REGION

Learn more


CREATING SUSTAINABLE IMPACT AT SCALE


CREATING SUSTAINABLE IMPACT AT SCALE

See how we're sharing the innovations we create and the lessons we learn to help
accelerate the global transition to a carbon-free future.

Learn more


CREATING SUSTAINABLE IMPACT AT SCALE

See how we're sharing the innovations we create and the lessons we learn to help
accelerate the global transition to a carbon-free future.

Learn more
Net-zero carbon Water stewardship Circular economy Nature & biodiversity
 * Net-zero carbon
 * Water stewardship
 * Circular economy
 * Nature & biodiversity

Net-zero carbon Water stewardship Circular economy Nature & biodiversity
Solar panels being installed at the solar project that powers our data center in
Fredericia, Denmark


PURSUING NET-ZERO EMISSIONS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

We use energy to power our products and to run our operations, including our
data centers and offices. For our third decade of climate action, we’re pursuing
net-zero emissions across our operations and value chain by 2030.6 This is
supported by our ambitious clean energy goal to operate our data centers and
office campuses on 24/7 carbon-free energy, such as solar and wind.7
Learn More
Learn More


HOW WE’RE HELPING EVERYONE BENEFIT FROM THE TRANSITION TO CLEAN ENERGY

A sustainable future means decarbonizing the electricity grid for everyone.

Read story


OUR PROGRESS IN STEWARDING CLEAN ENERGY IN EUROPE

Two new power purchase agreements in Belgium and the Netherlands are helping us
move forward in our goal to operate on 24/7 carbon-free energy7 by 2030.

Read story


BUILDING MORE ACCURATE AND EFFECTIVE GREENHOUSE GAS ACCOUNTING

Our comments on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol update.

Read story


ACCELERATING CLIMATE ACTION AT GOOGLE AND BEYOND: A PROGRESS UPDATE

Celebrating a year of clean energy growth, and looking ahead at our path to
net-zero emissions.

add_circle Read report Read report
Bay View, an all-electric, net water positive campus with the largest geothermal
installation in North America, and the first campus designed by Google. Photo by
Iwan Baanis


ADVANCING WATER STEWARDSHIP

We use water to help cool our data centers, and in our offices around the world.
We strive to be responsible stewards of every resource we use, including water.

We aim to replenish 120% of the freshwater volume we consume, on average, across
our offices and data centers, and help restore and improve the quality of water
and health of ecosystems in the communities where we operate.

Learn more
Learn more


3 WAYS WE’RE TACKLING WATER CHALLENGES IN INDIA

Updates on partnerships that help address water scarcity and access challenges
in watersheds where we operate in India.

View story


ASK A TECHSPERT: HOW DOES A BUILDING BECOME “WATER POSITIVE”?

What exactly does “water positive” mean at our new Bay View campus? District
Systems Water Lead Drew Wenzel dove into that question head first.

View story


A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION HELPED A SMALL TOWN COOL ITS DATA CENTER

An episode of "Where the Internet Lives" reveals how communities like Eemshaven
are running data centers in a way that improves water security.

View story


OUR COMMITMENT TO CLIMATE-CONSCIOUS DATA CENTER COOLING

We take a climate-conscious approach to cooling our data centers, as we continue
to deliver on our commitments to champion responsible water use and operate on
24/7 carbon-free energy7 by 2030.

View story


ACCELERATING A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Our work towards a more circular economy cuts across all our core business
operations including our data centers, workplaces, and consumer hardware
products, and spans the entire value chain from safer chemistry and
manufacturing waste to electronic waste recycling.

We aim to maximize the reuse of finite resources across our operations,
products, and supply chains and enable others to do the same.

Learn more
Learn more


7 WAYS WE’RE HELPING TO REDUCE PLASTIC POLLUTION

We’re making it easier to find recycling locations, shop for pre-owned items,
create efficient waste management processes and more.

View story


HOW STARTUPS ARE SUPPORTING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

The inaugural class of our Accelerator: Circular Economy is helping create a
more sustainable future.

View story


AN OPEN INVITATION TO HELP REDUCE PLASTIC WASTE

The Single-Use Plastics Challenge — hosted in collaboration with premier food
service management company Canteen and other food service partners — will give
food companies with packaging that is free of single-use plastic the opportunity
to test their solutions in Google's U.S.-based cafes and MicroKitchens.

View story


CLOSING THE PLASTICS CIRCULARITY GAP

This study determines the strategic low-risk and no-risk interventions under
multiple future scenarios that can create irreversible momentum toward plastic
circularity.

add_circle Read report Read report


STRIVING TO PROTECT AND ENHANCE NATURE AND BIODIVERSITY THROUGH OUR CAMPUSES AND
TECHNOLOGY

Preserving nature is critical both to mitigating climate change and adapting to
it.

With hundreds of offices around the world, Google is mindful of the potential
impact on local nature and biodiversity on our campuses and in the surrounding
communities and ecosystems. Our aim is for nature and people to flourish
together in the spaces that Google calls home.

Learn more
Learn more


AI REVEALS SIGNS OF RECOVERY IN AREAS DEVASTATED BY BUSHFIRES

While many ecosystems are still recovering following the devastating 2019-20
summer bushfires, we’re seeing signs of hope – with the help of AI technology.

View story


THIS WORLD WILDLIFE DAY, THE KEY WORD IS ADAPT

Cloud-based mapping tools like TerrAdapt can help prioritize areas for
conservation actions — like habitat restoration, increasing protection status,
and building wildlife crossings.

View story


DOING OUR PART FOR CALIFORNIA’S MONARCH BUTTERFLIES

Since 2014, we’ve been using our campuses to support wildlife and our
communities. We’re taking steps to help address the threat facing California’s
monarch butterflies.

View story


HOW WE’RE RESTORING NATIVE HABITATS IN SILICON VALLEY

Google’s real estate and ecology teams are working to restore critical habitats
like oak woodlands and willow groves across our Bay Area campuses.

View story


STAY INFORMED

Stay up to date on our news and progress.

View more
 * 
   May 20, 2024
   
   Our first offsite heat recovery project lands in Finland
   
   Read Story
 * 
   May 2, 2024
   
   See the winners of our Single-Use Plastics Challenge
   
   Read Story
 * 
   April 30, 2024
   
   How we're supporting watershed health in southern Nevada
   
   Read Story
 * 
   April 22, 2024
   
   How Chromebooks can support your school's Earth Day goals
   
   Read Story

1 Fuel-efficient routing was first launched in the U.S. in 2021. In 2022, we
expanded it to Canada and nearly forty European countries, as well as in Egypt
ahead of COP27.
2 Google uses an AI prediction model to estimate the expected fuel or energy
consumption for each route option when users request driving directions. We
identify the route that we predict will consume the least amount of fuel or
energy. If this route is not already the fastest one and it offers meaningful
energy and fuel savings with only a small increase in driving time, we recommend
it to the user. To calculate enabled emissions reductions, we tally the fuel
usage from the chosen fuel-efficient routes and subtract it from the predicted
fuel consumption that would have occurred on the fastest route without
fuel-efficient routing and apply adjustments for factors such as: CO2e factors,
fleet factors, well-to-wheels factors, and powertrain mismatch factors. We then
input the estimated prevented emissions into the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas
Equivalencies Calculator to calculate equivalent cars off the road for a year.
The cumulative figure covers estimated emissions prevented after fuel-efficient
routing was launched, from October 2021 through September 2023. Enabled
emissions reductions estimates include inherent uncertainty due to factors that
include the lack of primary data and precise information about real-world
actions and their effects. These factors contribute to a range of possible
outcomes, within which we report a central value.
3 Fuel cost calculator in Google Search is currently available on mobile only in
the US, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the
UK, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, South
Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.
4 Fuel-efficient routing in Google Maps is currently available in the US,
Canada, Europe, and Egypt.
5 EV charging station information is currently available in Google Maps in the
US, Canada, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland,
France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and the UK.
6 Train schedules and tickets in Google Search are currently available in Google
Search in the US, Canada, Japan, and 17 European countries.
7 We are aiming to reduce 50% of our combined absolute Scope 1, 2
(market-based), and 3 absolute greenhouse gas emissions when compared to a 2019
base year, and planning to invest in nature-based and technology-based carbon
removal solutions to neutralize our remaining emissions.
8 Carbon-free energy is any type of electricity generation that doesn’t directly
emit carbon dioxide, including (but not limited to) solar, wind, geothermal,
hydropower, and nuclear. Sustainable biomass and carbon capture and storage
(CCS) are special cases considered on a case-by-case basis, but are often also
considered carbon-free energy sources.
arrow_back

Report


24/7 BY 2030: REALIZING A CARBON-FREE FUTURE

In 2020, we set an ambitious new goal: to operate on carbon-free energy, 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year—all by 2030. This whitepaper
explains the science behind our 24/7 carbon-free energy goal and how we hope to
achieve it.

download Download PDF

September 2020

September 2020
share Share
arrow_upward

arrow_back

Report


GOOGLE WATER STEWARDSHIP: ACCELERATING POSITIVE CHANGE AT GOOGLE, AND BEYOND

This paper describes our water stewardship work to date and our ambitions for
the future—both at Google and beyond. We’re focusing on three areas: enhancing
our stewardship of water resources across Google office campuses and data
centers; replenishing our water use and improving watershed health and
ecosystems in water-stressed communities; and sharing technology and tools that
help everyone predict, prevent and recover from water stress.

download Download PDF

September 2021

September 2021
share Share
arrow_upward

arrow_back

Report


ACCELERATING CLIMATE ACTION AT GOOGLE AND BEYOND: A PROGRESS UPDATE

This paper offers an overview of our climate ambitions, an update on our
efforts, and examples of how we are using technology to accelerate climate
action.

download Download PDF

November 2022

November 2022
share Share
arrow_upward

arrow_back

Report


CLOSING THE PLASTICS CIRCULARITY GAP: FULL REPORT

This study determines the strategic low-risk and no-risk interventions under
multiple future scenarios that can create irreversible momentum toward plastic
circularity. It evaluates six polymers in three major regions of the world,
representing 86% of current global plastics demand, examines a suite of
interventions, and identifies critical elements to catalyze circular supply
chains.

download Download PDF

March 2022

March 2022
share Share
arrow_upward



FOOTER LINKS


EMPOWERING INDIVIDUALS

 * Overview
 * Google Maps
 * Google Search
 * Travel
 * Google Shopping
 * Google Nest


OTHER GOOGLE INITIATIVES

 * Accessibility
 * Crisis response
 * Digital wellbeing
 * Belonging
 * Safety Center
 * Google Health
 * Grow with Google


WORKING TOGETHER

 * Overview


TOOLS

 * Data Commons
 * Environmental Insights Explorer
 * Google Earth
 * View all


OPERATING SUSTAINABLY

 * Overview
 * Net-zero carbon
 * Water stewardship
 * Circular economy
 * Nature & biodiversity
 * Stories


REPORTS

 * 2023 Environmental Report
 * Alphabet's 2023 CDP Climate Change Response
 * 2023 Supplier Responsibility Report
 * 2023 European Union NFRD Report
 * 2022 Statement Against Modern Slavery
 * Accelerating Climate Action at Google and Beyond: A Progress Update
 * View all


OTHER GOOGLE INITIATIVES

 * Accessibility
 * Crisis response
 * Digital wellbeing
 * Belonging
 * Safety Center
 * Google Health
 * Grow with Google

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 * About Google
 * Google products
 * Privacy
 * Terms

 * Help
 * English Ελληνικά Español (Latinoamérica) Español (España) Français (France)