Google to neutralise carbon emission for device shipments

San Francisco: Tech giant Google has announced a string of sustainability pledges for its hardware and has said that it aims to neutralise carbon emissions from delivering consumer hardware like Pixel phones and Google Home Minis by 2020.

“By 2020, 100 per cent of all shipments going to or from customers will be carbon neutral. Starting in 2022, 100 per cent of Made by Google products will include recycled materials with a drive to maximize recycled content wherever possible,” Anna Meegan, Head of Sustainability, Consumer Hardware, wrote in a blog post on Monday.

“And we will make technology that puts people first and expands access to the benefits of technology,” she added.

The tech giant reportedly uses post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic in its portfolio of Nest thermostats, with the new pledge set to boost its use of the material, as well as recycled metals.

“In 2018, we began publishing our product environmental reports, which help everyone understand exactly what our products are made of, how they’re built and how they get shipped to you,” Meegan noted.

According to the company, from 2017 to 2018, its carbon emissions for product shipments decreased by 40 per cent. 

It also launched its “Power Project” which aims to bring one million energy and money-saving Nest thermostats to families in need by 2023 and built much of our Nest product portfolio with post-consumer recycled plastic.