What Google's Environmental Report Says About Procurement

Google’s 2025 Environmental Report lays bare how the tech giant approaches sustainable procurement, focusing on clean energy, decarbonising supply chains, building a circular economy and removing carbon from the atmosphere.

The report outlines the scale of Google’s efforts while recognising the challenge of balancing fast-growing energy needs from technologies like AI with the urgent demand to reduce emissions globally.

Expanding clean energy procurement

Google continues to be one of the world’s largest corporate buyers of clean energy. Between 2010 and 2024, the company signed more than 170 agreements totalling more than 22 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy generation capacity.

This amount equals Portugal’s entire renewable energy capacity in 2024.

Last year, Google signed contracts for more than 8 GW of additional clean energy generation, doubling its volume compared to the previous year. At least 25 previously contracted clean energy projects became operational during the same year, adding 2.5 GW of new clean power to the grids that serve Google’s data centres and offices.

The procurement covers regions worldwide: more than 17.3 GW in North America, at least 4.5 GW in Europe, more than 400 megawatts (MW) in Latin America and over 300 MW in Asia Pacific. New deals were signed in places including Arizona, Nebraska, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and India.

Google estimates its 2024 clean energy purchases alone avoided around 8.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), with cumulative avoided emissions exceeding 44 million tCO2e since 2011. The company also maintains a 100% renewable energy match globally each year since 2017 by buying surplus renewable electricity in regions where it is abundant to offset regions with fewer renewable options, like Asia Pacific.

Google is bidding to match every kilowatt-hour of electricity used with carbon-free energy (CFE) produced on the same grid and hour by 2030. In 2024, its 24/7 CFE percentage grew from 64% to 66%, despite a 27% rise in electricity consumption. Nine out of 20 grid regions hosting Google-owned data centres reached at least 80% CFE.

On the subject of data centres, Google highlights a 12% reduction in related energy emissions in 2024, achieved despite increased demand from AI workloads. However, its over emissions from data centres remain significantly higher than four years ago, driven by AI’s exponential growth.

Meanwhile, the company has piloted new purchasing models, such as the Clean Transition Tariff with NV Energy, and entered partnerships that allow co-located grid connections to reduce pressure on transmission systems. It invested in advanced energy sources, including geothermal projects with Fervo Energy, a first-of-its-kind corporate nuclear energy agreement with Kairos Power to bring 500 MW of advanced nuclear capacity by 2035, and support for a waste-wood-to-energy biomass plant in Singapore.

Supply chain decarbonisation efforts

Google has acknowledged that cutting supply chain emissions in certain locations is a particularly tough task. In the Asia Pacific region, for example, fossil fuel reliance remains high.

In 2023, Google launched the Clean Energy Addendum (CEA), asking key suppliers to commit to matching 100% of their electricity with clean sources by the end of 2029. Many suppliers signed by the end of 2024.

To support suppliers, especially semiconductor manufacturers, Google invested in a 1 GW pipeline of solar projects in Taiwan, building on work that helped open Taiwan’s market for direct renewable purchases.

Google is also a founding member of Catalyze, which works to decarbonise semiconductor manufacturing, and offers training and technical support to suppliers through resources like the Energy Assessment tool.

Suppliers must follow Google’s Supplier Code of Conduct and are encouraged to take part in reporting programmes such as the CDP’s corporate questionnaire.

It must be highlighted, however, that Google’s supply chain emissions represent a growing concern. The report notes that certain categories of supply chain pollution are excluded from the company’s “ambition-based” emissions metric, but, when included, total emissions rise to approximately 15.2 million metric tons of CO₂—comparable to the annual output of nearly 40 gas-fired power plants.

Writing on LinkedIn, Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer at Google, said: "This is about building for the future through new advanced energy innovations and deeper supplier engagement, both of which are core parts of our strategy as we work toward our climate moonshots: 24/7 carbon free energy and net zero by 2030."

Building a circular economy

Google is dedicated to creating a reverse supply chain – in other words, moving products back through the supply chain after they have served their original purpose. 

Notable achievements in 2024 include:

• Diverted 84% of operational waste from its data centres away from landfill
• Harvested about 8.8 million components for reuse or resale, including more than three million hard drives
• 45% of server components came from reused inventory
• More than 51 million parts have entered the secondary market since 2015

At least 20% of material used in new Google products launched and manufactured in 2024 was recycled content. This includes 100% recycled rare-earth elements in magnets for Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel 9/Pro phones, 100% recycled tin in solder on circuit boards, 100% recycled aluminium in Pixel phone enclosures and 40% recycled plastic in products. Google achieved 100% plastic-free packaging across all new product launches in 2024 and published a design guide to help others do the same.

Beyond procurement, Google also invests in carbon removal credits. In 2024, it signed 16 new offtake deals worth in excess of US$100m, representing around 728,300 tCO2e in removal credits. Its total portfolio now stands at approximately 782,400 tCO2e, with projects using techniques such as biomass carbon removal and storage, direct air capture, enhanced rock weathering and natural carbon sink restoration.

Google also works with policymakers and industry groups to share policy positions and drive collective action. It collaborates with academics on research related to clean energy, climate adaptation and mitigation, and supports startups tackling climate and nature challenges.

Read more on Google's Environmental Report 2025

• What Does Google's Environmental Report 2025 Say About AI?
• What Does Google's Environmental Report 2025 Say About Data Centres?
• What Does Google's Environmental Report 2025 Say About Energy?
• What Does Google's Environmental Report 2025 Say About Supply Chain?
• What Does Google's Environmental Report 2025 Say About Sustainability?
• What Does Google's Environmental Report 2025 Say About Technology?

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