Fabricating and powering our devices, our data storage systems and related infrastructure requires a huge amount of energy. Really huge. At a time when we are increasingly dependent on the internet, feeding through renewable energies is a necessity in order to curb the impact of humans on natural resources and the dangers of climate change. Since 2009, Greenpeace has been interested in the energy consumption of Internet giants with the aim of encouraging them to fuel their rapid growth with 100% renewable energies.
The bad students of the green internet
Chinese companies like Baidu (internet), Tencent Holdings (internet and mobile services, online advertising). Social media like 82cook.com, band.us, clien.net, gasengi.com, jjangou.com ... But also Vevo , Pinterest , Reddit.com , Twitter . These four companies each have 5 "Fs", the lowest score awarded by Greenpeace. A penalty that penalizes the lack of transparency of these companies on the origin of their energy supply, as the small share of renewable energy.
What can do better in energy?
Despite its commitment to be greener, Amazon remains poorly ranked. The origin of its energy supply lacks transparency, and Greenpeace is concerned about the development of the company in markets powered by dirty energies, such as coal. Other dunce, and not least, the mastodon Netflix . The video streaming giant has caught the wrath of Greenpeace because it is one of the companies with the strongest ecological footprint. If the balance sheet is not as catastrophic as that of Twitter, Netflix is far, far away, good students.
Good students distinguished by Greenpeace
In the construction of an Internet powered by renewable energies, Facebook , Apple and Google are racing in the lead. These are the first to make commitments in this direction, four years ago. And even today, these companies continue to be the best students in the Greenpeace report.
Apple (iMessage, iTunes), Facebook (which has owned WhatsApp since 2014 and Instagram since 2012), Google (which has YouTube since 2006), Switch (data center operator) or blogger.com have all received an "A". A note that salutes at least 4 "A" on the 5 categories taken into account by the NGO. Greenpeace applauds these companies for using their influence to encourage their suppliers, utilities and even governments to make maximum use of renewable energy. By buying or surfing these sites, we contribute (a little) to a greener future.
