Google's journey began in a dorm room at Stanford University. Over the years, it has grown into an economic powerhouse by executing on a simple but profound concept: to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Beyond Google search, which catapulted the company to the world stage, Google also offers hundreds of products used by billions of people around the globe, from YouTube and Android to the Pixel phone and Gmail. Google works to improve the way people connect with information.
Consider this: eight Google products now have over one billion users each. Making these products available to users 24x7 takes energy. In 2015, Google used 5.7 TWh of electricity for its global operations, about as much as the city of San Francisco used in the same year. And that is why Google’s carbon reduction accomplishments are so significant.
Google is taking ambitious steps to reduce their emissions—by purchasing renewable energy through direct contracts and looking for new sources of clean energy. The company is now the largest corporate renewable energy buyer on the planet, and the first company of its size to reach 100 percent of global operations powered by renewable energy through direct contracts. In 2017, Google will directly purchase 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy—more than many large utilities—through a combination of direct purchases from renewable developers and through partnerships with utility providers. That's enough to more power more than 1 million homes. At the same time, the company is promoting policies that allow energy consumers to choose their energy supply—a crucial move that could accelerate the transition to a 100 percent clean electricity grid and drive economic growth.
Employees: 61,814
Revenue: 80.5 billion
Industry: Technology
Headquartered: Mountain View, California