Google: Driving Decarbonisation in Procurement Strategy

Google is advancing its procurement strategy to decarbonise its global value chain through a long-term clean energy agreement with ReNew in India, demonstrating how strategic purchasing decisions can drive sustainability goals while supporting regional energy transitions.

To reach global net zero emissions by 2050, annual clean energy investment needs to more than triple by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Despite pledges by governments and companies, carbon emissions from the energy sector have increased by 60% since 1992.

This gap between commitment and action has prompted organisations like Google to develop more sophisticated procurement approaches that address emissions across their entire value chain.

Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) at Google, said on LinkedIn: "Decarbonising a global value chain is anything but straightforward. Like many companies, Google's value chain spans multiple geographies and industries and we often lack the specific data to track every emission source perfectly. But complexity can't be a reason for inaction."

Procuring clean energy at scale

Google has signed a long-term procurement agreement with ReNew, a leading decarbonisation solutions company, to develop a new 150 megawatt (MW) solar project in Rajasthan, India. Under the agreement, Google will procure the project's energy from ReNew, representing a strategic purchasing decision that enables new renewable capacity while addressing the company's Scope 3 emissions.

This solar project is expected to generate more than 425,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of clean electricity each year, which can power more than 360,000 Indian households. The procurement model demonstrates how corporate purchasing power can catalyse infrastructure development in key markets.

Vaishali Nigam Sinha, Co-Founder and Chairperson, Sustainability at ReNew, says: "This partnership with Google reflects the growing global confidence in India's clean energy ecosystem and ReNew's ability to deliver climate-positive solutions at scale.

"Long-term agreements of this kind are catalytic; they enable new renewable capacity, support India's energy transition and help global companies meet ambitious sustainability commitments. We are proud to work with Google on a model that sets a powerful precedent for credible, high-impact climate action."

Strategic procurement framework

The procurement deal with ReNew shows a practical example of the principles outlined in a recent white paper by 3Degrees, which was funded by Google. The white paper discusses how companies can successfully procure clean electricity in their value chains in order to meet their emissions reduction targets.

It encourages businesses to first identify their Scope 3 emissions to address through direct procurement and to judge how feasible it is to track each part of the value chain. After this, companies should match their calculated emissions through direct procurement of clean electricity attributes, including power purchase agreements or unbundled energy attribute certificates.

By partnering with ReNew, Google is putting elements from the white paper into practice by engaging with its value chain to drive meaningful impact. The long-term agreement structure enables investment in new generation capacity, adding clean energy to the grid rather than simply procuring existing renewable power.

Supporting India's energy transition

Google and ReNew's procurement project will help support India's target to achieve 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil fuel energy capacity by 2030. This could demonstrate how corporate procurement decisions can align with national energy policy goals while advancing commercial sustainability objectives.

Vrushali Gaud, Global Director, Climate Operations at Google, adds: "Clean, affordable electricity is central to our growth ambitions, both for our own infrastructure and for our value chain.

"This novel agreement with ReNew is a critical strategic step; it brings new solar capacity onto the grid in a key region and helps address challenging portions of our value chain emissions. We are committed to supporting India's clean energy journey through this collaboration and contributing positively to the national grid."

The agreement will help increase ReNew's renewable energy use and operational efficiency while helping to decarbonise parts of Google's global value chain as the company works towards its goal of net zero emissions by 2030.