SAN FRANCISCO --
Greenpeace issued its annual report on the energy efficiency of
Internet companies, praising Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and other major
providers of online services for improved use of energy resources.
Apple, which was given a low score by the
environmental group two years ago, made the most gains in transparency,
internal conservation efforts and the use and advocacy of renewable energy, Greepeace said in a report.
Box Inc., Google Inc., Rackspace Hosting Inc. and
Salesforce.com Inc. were also praised for their efforts to run their
data centers entirely on renewable energy sources
such as solar and wind power. Amazon.com Inc. was singled out in the
note, titled “Clicking Clean: How Companies Are Creating the Green
Internet,” as the only technology company not moving in the right
direction.
“It’s not often that we get an opportunity to
celebrate companies’ progress,” said Gary Cook, the Greenpeace
legislative director who authored the report. “We’re not used to this,
but there’s been a huge change in the past two years.”
The group, which began a campaign two years ago called
“How Clean is Your Cloud?,” looked at how technology providers are
managing their energy needs as they build data centers for delivering
software, music, movies and information to customers via the Internet.
The servers handling the data not only consume electricity but require
air conditioning to keep them from overheating.
Energy Economics
“This is about a change in economics,” said Adam
Browning, executive director of the San Francisco-based Vote Solar
initiative. “Making big pioneering moves highlights the positive
economic impact of renewables.”
Amazon, which has an Internet cloud-computing business called Amazon Web Services, will have to do more to boost its use of renewable energy,
Cook said. Greenpeace may begin a campaign to pressure Amazon customers
such as Netflix Inc. and Spotify Ltd. to move to other providers with
greener credentials.
“They’re the absolute laggards in the industry right
now,” Cook said of Amazon. “All the other companies have made some
incredible changes in the past 24 months, but Amazon has remained
totally silent.”
Cook cited how Apple, Facebook and Google, which all
own huge data centers in North Carolina, pushed the local utility to
offer industrial customers a special rate for renewable power sources.
Apple operates a solar farm at its facility in Maiden, North Carolina,
and is planning on adding solar capabilities in Oregon and Nevada.
Green Apple
Greenpeace awarded Apple three “A”s and one “B,” tying
with Facebook for the highest marks. Two years ago, the iPhone maker
received three “D”s and one “F” for its main green energy categories. “They have effectively secured enough renewable energy to meet their entire needs,” Cook said. “Apple has made good on its commitment to be 100 percent renewable.”
Greenpeace’s Cook also credited Apple Chief Executive
Officer Tim Cook for taking a far more public role on energy strategy.
The company also hired Lisa Jackson, the former chief of the U.S
Environmental Protection Agency, as Apple’s vice president of
environmental initiatives. Apple declined to comment for this story or make Jackson available for an interview. Cook also credited Facebook for pushing a new “Open
Hardware” movement that lets companies share information on how to
create the most energy efficient computers and networking gear.
Copyright 2014 Bloomberg
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/04/greenpeace-praises-apples-increased-commitment-to-renewable-energy
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