The group wants to cover its electricity consumption entirely from renewable sources by 2030.
The group wants to cover its electricity consumption entirely from renewable sources by 2030.
Düsseldorf google browser He committed himself to the task of organizing information around the world and making it accessible to him. Now the internet company also wants to help preserve the climate. Many new products should “show ways to lead a more sustainable life,” CEO Sundar Pichai said Wednesday.
In the future, private users will receive information from Google, for example, on how to behave in a more environmentally friendly way when traveling, shopping and investing. When researching topics related to climate change, the alphabet-Group also display reliable information from sources such as the United Nations (UN).
“People want to do more,” Sustainability Director Kate Brandt told Handelsblatt. Searches for sustainability topics are at an all-time high – from cycling to eco-friendly hotels to electric cars. With the broad scope, it can help Google make “sustainable decisions”.
Ads are part of Google’s sustainability strategy. The group has set itself a goal of running all offices and data centers around the clock with renewable energies by 2030. So far, it has been balancing consumption by purchasing electricity from renewable sources, but it cannot do without fossil fuels entirely.
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Google is now also looking at users who use the group’s many products, from search engines to Nest heating thermostats. “Companies aren’t just asking what they can do to help our planet — people are increasingly asking that question,” Pichai said.
Advertisements relate to many products. some examples:
Brandt, Google’s head of sustainability, says individual users’ decisions will have little impact on themselves — “but if you multiply them across all of our products, it leads to big improvements.”
The manager does the math for Google Maps, which one billion people use to navigate each month. By showing the routes with the lowest fuel consumption – which users can choose with one click – more than one million tons of carbon dioxide can be saved annually, according to Google. The Sustainability Manager explains that it’s like taking 200,000 cars off the road. For comparison: about 48 million cars are registered in Germany.
Are new products enough to raise environmental awareness? “Additional information about sustainability can definitely have an impact,” says Christina Gravert, a behavioral economist at the University of Copenhagen. At least for users who think sustainability is important but don’t bother looking for information about it.
However, Google has the potential to drastically change users’ behavior while making small design changes, Gravert says. Research shows that ranking has a significant impact: the above is chosen more often. Experts call this thrust control.
However, this carries risks. “Studies show: people don’t want to learn,” says the professor. “Keep the climate up and go for a walk”: such calls can have a negative effect.
Google had to try this out for themselves. A few years ago, the company showed some users a calorie counter for their walking distance in its Maps app — the savings were shown with donuts. After strong feedback, the company decided to end the experiment again soon.
When it comes to sustainability, Google wants to dispense with such approaches. “It’s about choosing, it’s about giving people useful information,” says Brandt, head of sustainability.
more: A massive mission for climate neutrality: This is how SAP, Salesforce, and Microsoft want to turn this trend into business
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Googling greener? Eliminate data centers with their energy-absorbing and coal-burning central frameworks! And take the good old turntable phone back! 🙂 🙂 🙂
