A new report from environmental organization Greenpeace has found Apple as the greenest tech company in the world (via CNBC). The report titled Clicking Clean: Who is Winning the Race to Build a Green Internet reveals that Apple is leading the way when it comes to building a renewably powered internet, with an “A” grade and a clean energy index score of 83%. Facebook and Google came in at 2nd and 3rd, with scores of 67% and 56% respectively.
“Proud to lead the @Greenpeace clean energy report for the third year in a row”, tweeted Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier today. Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to large tech companies. Apple, Google, and Facebook have all joined the RE100, a group made up of some of the world’s largest businesses committed to 100 percent renewable energy. Meanwhile, companies like Netflix, Amazon and Samsung were found to be lagging.
“Thanks to the leadership and advocacy of companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, and Switch, we are seeing the tech industry make major strides toward powering the internet with clean energy,” Gary Cook, Greenpeace’s senior IT analyst, said in a statement.
While the report found many positives, Greenpeace highlighted emerging East Asian internet companies as an increasing cause for concern. “Without key policy changes, the rapid growth of the internet in East Asia will likely be powered by coal and other dirty sources of electricity,” it added. The north and southeast Asian region was the world’s biggest emitter of CO2, Greenpeace said.
The Greenpeace analyst emphasized that Netflix must embrace the responsibility to make sure its growth is powered by renewables, not fossil fuels and it must show its leadership here. The company earned “F’s” in energy transparency, renewable energy commitment and advocacy.
Amazon was also awarded an “F” for its energy transparency, with its overall Clean Energy Index percentage falling from last year.
