Google Hardware to be Carbon Neutral by 2020
- Paul Thurrott
- Aug 05, 2019
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20
Today, Google committed to making the delivery of its hardware products to and from customers carbon neutral by 2020. And it says that “100 percent” of these products will include recycled materials by 2022.
“We’ve been making consumer hardware like Pixel phones and Google Home Minis for just over three years now,” Google’s Anna Meegan writes. “But building these devices, getting them into the hands of our customers, and disposing of our old electronics can create significant waste.”
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The goal, Google says, is to maximize recycled content wherever possible.
“Some people think design is about making things look pretty or look good,” Google hardware design lead Ivy Ross told Fast Company. “And really design is about solving problems for humanity. I said to the team, wait a minute, [sustainability] is just another problem and is probably the most important problem of our lifetime. Won’t we feel great as designers if we are taking that on?”
Google isn’t the first device maker to attempt such a change: Apple, which sells far more hardware than Google, has promoted its use of recycled materials for years.
“We are a young hardware brand,” Meegan said. “And we are looking at this opportunity as a perfect time for us to make a stand and bring something to what we believe customers want in the marketplace. This is something that people want as customers; it’s something that people want as Googlers. It aligns to our broader company culture around thinking about the big unsolved problems of our time. So this is something that we feel is the right thing to do. And really the right time to do it.”
Conversation 20 comments
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Bats
<p>LOL…nice, but it's not going to do anything. </p><p><br></p><p>All this environment stuff was warned 20-30 years ago. Alot of action started happening during the Clinton Administration. Technologies were developed to cut down on use and dependency of fossil fuels and other things. World wide environmental organizations were formed to promote global legislation and practice to "help" the environment. Like I said, this has been going on since the father of the internet (Al Gore) was VP of ther US. And people want to tell us, that after ALL THAT ACTION, the environment hasn't improved a little bit? Google is a great company, but this carbon thing of Google's is not going to do a thing at all. </p><p><br></p><p>Especially when you have the Google Execs and Hollywood flying private jets around the world like it's their aerial bicycle.</p>
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skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#447478">In reply to codymesh:</a></em></blockquote><p>No idea if Bats is a boomer or not but it's dangerous to make assumptions about what a particular generation believes whether we are talking boomers or millennials. There's no "generation-think" anyway.</p>
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skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#447466">In reply to Bats:</a></em></blockquote><p>The question is not only if the environment has improved due to actions taken to benefit it, but whether it would be even in worse shape had those actions not been taken.</p>
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Stooks
<p>Lol. It is made in China right? You know either #1 or #2 behind India as the leaders in world pollution. </p><p><br></p><p>Pure PR BS image spin. Especially since the owners cruise around the globe in their Boing 767. </p>