Carbon Neutral and Net Zero Carbon: companies’ commitment to the climate

Climate change is an increasingly pressing concern, even for companies. Many, especially in the last decade, are making efforts to reduce their impact on the environment. The most important parameter of this effort is undoubtedly carbon dioxide emissions, the main contributor to climate change. To date, at least two approaches are most popular:  carbon neutral and net zero carbon. Often used as equivalent, they actually have different implications. Let’s first try to define the two terms, and then look in detail at how some of the most important players in the digital market behave.

Carbon Neutral and Net Zero Carbon: what are the differences?

Both definitions demonstrate a company’s commitment to combating climate change, but there are some differences in the implications. In general, the more widely used term Carbon Neutral indicates the first step in a company’s green commitment, while Net Zero Carbon generally indicates a later evolutionary step.

Business commitment to climate change

For various reasons, both corporate philosophy and marketing, the giants of the technology sector have always been in the forefront, at least in raising awareness of the issue among their audiences and users. Some companies have already been active for several years, with very ambitious goals of achieving zero emissions within a few years.

SAP, for example, recently announced its commitment to To become a carbon neutral company by 2023, having registered in 2020 the lowest level of emissions since these measurements have existed. As we can read in the analysis, the changes brought about by the pandemic-related emergency provided the impetus toward a revolution that was already underway.

Google has a dual goal. The first, already achieved in 2007, was to achieve emissions neutrality, while the second, more ambitious, is to achieve zero emissions, hence Net Zero Carbon status, by 2030. One of the most interesting aspects of Google’s climate initiatives is the  user involvement. For example, when choosing datacenters for cloud computing, you can opt for the most sustainable ones, indicated by a green leaf and the indication  Lowest CO2. On the consumer side, for some time now, Google Maps has allowed consumers to choose  Also the greenest path when moving.

Amazon, which among the companies on this short list is the one dealing with the biggest challenge, has set a goal of becoming Net Zero Carbon by 2040. This is still a long way to go, but one that is studded with intermediate milestones. For example, 100 percent renewable energy use is set for 2025, while a fleet of 100,000 electric vehicles is planned for 2030.

More ambitious is the challenge of Microsoft, which has launched two particularly interesting goals in 2020. The first is to become  carbon negative, that is, offsetting more CO2 than is produced annually, by 2030, until we have removed all CO2 emissions produced in the company’s history by 2050. As an intermediate step, the company will reach 100 percent renewable energy use by 2025.

Carbon neutral and carbon zero: a commitment from the entire supply chain

Beyond the immediately obvious aspects of the “big guys'” commitment to combating climate change, there is also a second aspect to consider, namely how this facilitate the process for companies that in turn want to adopt a similar climate policy. In fact, remember that in order to declare oneself carbon neutral or Net Zero Carbon, it is necessary to offset or zero emissions from the entire supply chain. Leaning on partners and suppliers who are themselves carbon neutral greatly simplifies the process. And it accelerates the fight against climate change.

Today, major players in the digital industry are working to make the IT sector increasingly green by offering Cloud solutions that enable companies to limit emissions.
RegestaLAB can help you on the path to transforming your IT infrastructure to a greener solution.