Google's net zero efforts -- led by Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt (pictured, top of page) -- don't end there. The company, driven by CEO Sundar Pichai, also develops cloud-based sustainability software tools for partners and customers to leverage. And the Google Startups for Sustainable Development program supports a global ecosystem of impact-focused startups. The program builds community and supports startups with advisors, funding, and platform technology.
The timeline below, updated regularly, further explains Google's sustainability strategy, key milestones, customer engagements, partner integrations and more. Check back regularly for updates.
Platform Integration - Smart Homes: A Minut-Google Nest technology integration "enables property managers to significantly lower energy bills and carbon footprints by remotely managing heating and cooling across their short-term rental portfolios," the two companies said. Minut develops smart property management solutions to help protect rental owners and their guests. updates...
Partnership - IT Consulting and Cloud Services: Deloitte and Google are touting Google Cloud are touting sustainable IT services to help customers "measure biodiversity, detect greenhouse gas emissions, create responsible supply chains, plan more livable cities, understand and prepare for climate-induced risks like flooding, wildfires, or drought, and so much more." Key names to know at Deloitte include: Jamie Sawchuk, global Alphabet Google sustainability and climate lead; and Anant Dinamani, US Google Cloud alliance sustainability and climate lead.
Partnership - Cloud Services & IT Services: Wipro has expanded its strategic partnership with Google Cloud. The expanded effort focuses heavily on GenAI solutions.
United Kingdom - AI Investigation: Britain's competition watchdog is investigating Anthropic's AI partnerships with Amazon and Google, Reuters reported. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) expects to decide by October 4, 2024 whether the Amazon-Anthropic partnership deserves a deeper probe over competition concerns, the report said. Regulators in the United States, European Union and Britain signed a joint statement in July 2024, Reuters noted, promising to work together to safeguard fair competition in the AI industry.
AI Talent: Google has hired the co-founders of AI startup Character.AI and will license the startup's large language models, SeekingAlpha reported. Character.AI's technology can develop chatbots that emulate celebrities. The hires reinforce a growing trend in the AI sector, where technology giants hire talent and license technology from AI startups -- rather than outright acquire the startups. The move sometimes is designed to avoid antitrust inquiries, though some regulators are starting to take a look at the business practice of hiring talent and licensing technology.
July 2024: Sustainability Strategy Updates
Multiple updates...
Partnership - Data Centers: Google, PacificLight Energy (PLE) and Rexus Bioenergy (RExus) have entered into a 10-year collaboration. Specifically, PacificLight will route renewable energy from RExus to Google data centers in Singapore.
Funding - AI Startup:CuspAI has raised $30 million in seed funding and tapped Google veteran Geoffrey Hinton -- the so-called "Godfather of AI" -- as an advisor.
Cloud Services and Renewable Energy: Duke Energy is partnering with Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Nucor to explore carbon-free energy generation opportunities in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Startup Funding: New York-based EcoRatings, which has developed an AI-based sustainability ranking system, has raised $1 million in a pre-seed round from Google and India-based investors, CityBiz reported. EvolveX, a startup accelerator program run by We Founder Circle, first invested in the startup in December 2023, the report noted.
AI and Chromebooks: Google rolled out an array of new artificial intelligence and gaming features to its Chromebook Plus models, SeekingAlpha reported.
Partnership - AI and Low Carbon Data Center Designs: Purdue University and Google announced a sustainability partnership that involves leveraging AI to develop low-carbon industrial building designs -- such as data centers.
Up for Sale - Energy Management Software Business: mCloud, an energy management technology provider and Google Cloud partner, is seeking a buyer.
Carbon Removal Credits: Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce have launched the Symbiosis Coalition, an "advance market commitment for nature-based removal credits in the voluntary carbon market."
Data Centers: A Google data center in Hamina -- located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland -- in 2025 will begin to provide sustainable heat to the local area. The effort, in partnership with city-owned energy provider Haminan Energia, is an "offsite heat recovery project to reduce" that will reduce Google's environmental footprint, as well as help warm homes and businesses in this historic port city," the company said.
Leadership - Software:Google veteran Tim Collier has joined Scope3, a sustainability platform that seeks to decarbonize media and advertising, BusinessCloud reported. Collier will lead Scope3 business operations across the UK and Northern Europe, the report said.
Partnership - Cloud Software:RS Metrics and Cognizant are building various climate risk solutions atop Google Cloud. The software tools will "incorporate AI-driven methods for quantifying and analyzing climate risk, leveraging Google Cloud’s Gemini models as a foundation," the companies said.
M&A - Home Energy Management: Google's Nest Renew Service and OhmConnect have completed a merger. The resulting company, Renew Home, develops a home energy management platform to help consumers optimize their energy consumption. Majority owner Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners invested $100 million into Renew Home, which focuses on so-called virtual power plants (VPPs).
April 2024: Sustainability Strategy and Partnerships
Multiple updates...
Software Updates:Google Maps and Google Search updates will allow users to "find convenient public transit and walking routes, see alternatives to air travel and better understand the estimated emissions of flights," according to James Byers, group product manager for Google Search.
AI, Energy Efficiency and Axion Processors: Amid growing concerns about generative AI's energy needs, Google Cloud plans to roll out energy efficient Axion processors sometime in 2024, according to Amin Vahdat, VP and GM for machine learning, systems and Cloud AI at Google.
Satellites and Methane Emissions: MethaneSAT -- a new satellite backed by Google and the Environmental Defense Fund group -- launched from California with a mission to pinpoint oil and gas industry methane emissions from space, Reuters reported. SpaceX managed the launch.
More: Continue to the next page for additional Google sustainability strategy updates, and associated partner engagements.
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