Big tech. Big climate impact.
Global internet traffic surged by over 40% in 2020, driven by increased video streaming, video conferencing, online gaming and social networking.
Greater connectivity means more power, especially since most of the world’s Internet Protocol (IP) traffic goes through huge electricity-hungry data centers. Global data center electricity use in 2020 was 200-250 TWh or around 1% of global final electricity demand (IEA, 2021).
Add the rest of the tech industry’s footprint, such as manufacturing and waste management, and you’ve got a mighty environmental impact.
So when it comes to addressing the climate crisis, the tech sector could drive real change by powering up with renewable energy instead of fossil fuels. Getting off fossil fuels and setting 100% renewable energy targets for global operations this decade, would put the tech sector in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Some of the big tech behemoths have made strides in powering their operations on solar, wind, battery storage, and other clean energy sources. But many aren’t doing enough.
Samsung: climate laggard
Samsung is falling behind. And this matters because when it comes to tech, there are few companies bigger and more global than Samsung.
In 2018, Samsung pledged that US, China and Europe-based operations would be 100% powered by renewables by 2020. It sounds like an admirable achievement, but is it really?
A recent study has looked behind the hype, finding a massive 80% of Samsung Electronics’ total electricity use was at worksites in South Korea and Vietnam, where power generation depends heavily on fossil fuels.
In short: Right now, in spite of the spin, Samsung is worsening the climate crisis.
Demand 100% renewable energy
Raising your voice to the company right now will make a difference.
Please join us in demanding that Samsung’s de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, commits to using 100% renewable energy across its global operations.
The future is on the line. Tell Samsung to make the right call on renewables. Demand 100% renewable energy from Samsung today.
