Creating a renewably powered internet

As more and more of our economy shifts online, it’s critical to power the internet with renewable energy from the sun, wind, water and earth. We won't make the shift to a 100 percent renewable energy fast enough to avoid a climate crisis unless the internet becomes a platform to help get us there.

We — as informed digital citizens — have the power to demand IT move away from coal and other dirty energy sources, and embrace clean, renewable energy instead.

The good news is the shift has already begun. A growing number of companies are creating a corner of the internet that is renewably powered and coal free.  Their shift to these clean energy sources drives major new investments in renewable energy, including solar and wind.

What is Greenpeace doing?

Since 2010 Greenpeace has evaluated the annual energy demand of the Internet, and internet companies' energy choices. We're calling on major internet companies to lead the way in renewable power.

With Greenpeace's successful Unfriend Coal campaign, in 2011 Facebook became the first major internet company to commit to switching to 100 percent renewable energy. Since then Apple, Google, Salesforce, Equinix and Microsoft have joined a growing group of companies helping to build a renewable energy internet.

A history of greening the electronics sector

Since 2005, Greenpeace has pushed the electronics industry to green its supply chains. We've evaluated electronics brands based on toxic chemical elimination, e-waste producer responsibility, and action on climate change.

From 2006-2012 our Guide to Greener Electronics helped drive change in the consumer electronics sector, by urging them to remove the worst of hazardous substances from their products and take responsibility for them at the end of the product's life.

The industry has made progress. However, many challenges remain before the electronics industry can be truly sustainable.

What can you do?

Join the movement, and urge IT companies to build us a greener online, so we can all have a greener offline.

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