In 2018, Facebook announced that it had 100 percent renewable energy targets in its operations until the end of 2021. It seems that the company will have reached its goal by this date. Facebook shared that they used 86 percent renewable energy in 2019 with the first sustainability report published to date. This shows a 35 percent increase compared to 2015.
Facebook currently active in the 1.3 gigawatts of power from wind and solar projects are located. This includes the huge solar farm in Texas. The company reduced operational greenhouse gas emissions by 59 percent last year compared to 2017 levels and offset more than 100,000 metric tons of carbon emissions. This is equivalent to removing 22,000 cars from traffic.
Facebook underlines that Menlo Park management center is supported by 100 percent renewable energy. In addition, it removes 90 percent of its waste from landfills through recycling and composting. Four of Facebook’s US data center buildings even received LEED Gold certification, and a building in Sweden received the LEED Platinum certification, the highest rating possible.
The company is also trying to improve the water use side. It is stated that in 2024, over 3 billion gallons of water was saved and investments were made in basin restoration projects in Oregon and New Mexico. With a pilot project in a data center in New Mexico, it is noted that the water used for cooling is reduced by approximately 40 percent. This year, Facebook plans to extend this technology to other data centers. In addition, water projects are expected to recover approximately 206,000 cubic meters of water per year.
