Solving for Sustainability

Climate change does not only affect the environment. It puts pressure on our societies, economies and the daily life of people. Currently, environmental care, social responsibility and governance are becoming common premises for business value. That is why many organizations choose to strategically rethink their mission and vision, in addition to making use of technology to optimise their production, costs and benefits.

While technological developments in past centuries have contributed to climate change, new technologies have proven to play an important role in solving for sustainability. At Google, we are deeply committed to sustainability. We believe that we can contribute to a healthy balance between economic growth, care for the environment and well-being of people and societies. While creating business value along the way. Is it sustainability that you are solving for too? Read how we can support you as a strategic and technological partner.

Companies are finding new ways to integrate sustainability in their business strategies and operations. On a strategic level, there is an increasing awareness of how a stewardship approach to sustainability can increase corporate value and drive long term financial growth. A likewise understanding of how unsustainable practices can affect business continuity, future profits and the relationship with stakeholders, is crucial. 

According to the report Sustainable Investing by the KPMG International Cooperative, 54% of companies claim that sustainability is the best strategy in their organisation when it comes to environmental, social and governance issues. According to McKinsey, the advantages and benefits experienced by companies committed to sustainability are innumerable and represent a differential and decisive value in the market. Furthermore, KPMG ensures that 58% of the companies consider Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues critical and relevant for the future of their organisations, and are willing to include them in their business strategy.

As customers increasingly look to acquire socially and environmentally responsible products or services, new job generations seek to work in value driven firms. By integrating sustainability as one of the main axes in business models, environmental, economic and social benefits are achieved, generating a return on investment, both in terms of savings, consolidation and corporate reputation.

Whether it comes to creating inclusive workplaces, increasing diversity or accelerating the global energy transition, at Google, we are committed to drive change and support our customers in their strategic and operational sustainability challenges. As we are aware of the financial risks that climate change will produce and the prospects that exist to achieve regulatory compliance, we aim to offer sustainable solutions. We believe that by understanding and reaping the benefits of changing into the low carbon economy, a business can reduce risk in the supply chain and ensure business continuity. It also allows quantifying and communicating the value they create for society. Our technological tools and solutions enable improved energy efficiency and smart energy management. For this reason, many companies look for efficient products supported by our sustainable equipment. 

So how can our solutions help you reach your sustainability goals?

Our Google Data Centers are some of the world's most efficient data centres, consuming around 50% less energy than average data centres. In addition to being efficient, they operate with 100% renewable energy, mainly from wind power.

Large-scale investment in wind and solar energy is one of the pillars of our efforts to achieve sustainability. We are the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy. To date, we have signed more than 50 long-term contracts to purchase power from wind and solar farms worldwide for a total of more than 5 GW of new generation capacity since 2010.

Our primary goal is to get carbon-free energy for all our centres anywhere, anytime. To compensate for locations where there is no wind or sunlight decreases, we buy a surplus of renewable energy at other places. We are continually exploring strategies to get our data centres to use carbon-free power 24 hours, every day.

Using Google Cloud Platform (GCP), your company contributes to a more sustainable world. When companies migrate existing applications to GCP, they reduce their digital environmental footprint. GCP allows companies to create projects without developing their own infrastructure. Besides, thanks to BigQuery, business analysis teams can generate a unique market vision. The BigQuery tool allows analysing large amounts of data quickly, comfortably and efficiently, which helps to consume less energy.

According to Google data, a company can save between 65% and 85% of carbon emissions by using Google Apps for Business products, since the cloud in which these services operate is very large and distributes the means in its platform.

Neste is much more than a conventional oil refining company. It is the world's largest producer of renewable diesel and has 5,400 employees, four refineries, and it has offices in 16 countries around the world. However, Neste wants to challenge all companies by offering increasingly cleaner products based on renewable raw materials.

Neste's technological infrastructure was nearing its end of life. The performance was slow, sometimes almost unusable, all processes were channelled through servers in Finland. The server capacity was huge, but it was not optimal, causing latency and application problems.

To improve performance and sustainability, Neste together with Citrix Cloud and Google Cloud Platform implemented a sustainable ICT architecture to provide optimisation and disaster recovery. The new architecture offers business-critical applications with Citrix Cloud Services and uses Google G Suite as a productivity tool.

Moving to the scalable platform of Google Cloud Platform and Citrix Cloud Services, Neste now needs few servers. Likewise, staff have the option to choose a wide variety of devices for business use, including Google Chromeboxes, Chromebooks.

Neste placed 3rd on the Global 100 list of the most sustainable companies in the world this year. Neste shareholders are not regretting the company's move to sustainability and to low carbon economy, as share prices have risen 300% in the past five years.

Sustainability requires the involvement of sustainability strategies with corporate strategies. This is possible with the corporate leaders who seek more competitiveness and development inside and outside of the company. In a nutshell, sustainability has to be present in every business decision made. Google Cloud's technology help businesses to improve sustainable strategies and enhances the cohesion between economy and environment without forgetting the social scope.