GOOGLE says it will neutralise carbon emissions from delivering consumer hardware by next year and include recycled plastic in each of its products by 2022.
Anna Meegan, head of sustainability for Google’s devices and services unit, said in an interview that the company’s transport-related carbon emissions per unit fell 40% last year compared to 2017 by relying more on ships instead of planes to move phones, speakers, laptops and other gadgets from factories to customers across the world.
Shipping emits between 3.0 and 7.84 grams per tonne-kilometre of carbon compared to 435 for air, according to data from the World Shipping Council.
The company will offset remaining emissions by purchasing carbon credits, Ms Meegan said.
Three out of nine Google products for which the company has detailed disclosures online contain recycled plastic, ranging from 20% to 42% in the casings for its Google Home speakers and Chromecast streaming dongles.
In a blog post, Google committed to introducing some recycled plastic to 100% of products by 2022.
Ms Meegan said devices cannot clear the second checkpoint in the company’s design process unless they show that sustainable packaging and materials and ease of repair have been considered. “We are fundamentally looking to build sustainability into everything we do,” she said. “It’s going to take us time to demonstrate progress.”
