Apple has earned the title of greenest tech company in the world for the third year in a row, according to a new report from environmental organization Greenpeace. In a new report, “Clicking Clean: Who is Winning the Race to Build a Green Internet,” Apple lead the pack with an “A” grade and a clean energy index score of 83 percent.
Facebook and Google also did well, with scores of 67 and 56 percent, respectively, along with data center provider Switch, which scored 100 percent. However, Netflix, Amazon Web Services and Samsung were found to be lagging.
Greenpeace’s clean energy index accounts for how much clean energy the companies use from renewable resources, as well as other factors, such as their willingness to make their energy consumption publicly available, and their commitment to powering their data centers with renewable energy, for example.
Because of these companies’ size, they have the power to influence others in the industry when it comes to the use of clean energy. As the report noted, Apple plays a “catalytic role within its IT supply chain, pushing other IT data centers and cloud operators who help deliver pieces of Apple’s corner of the internet to follow their lead in powering their operations with renewable energy.”
Facebook also received accolades for being the first major internet company to commit to be 100 percent renewably powered, and it continues to play a leadership role in the sector. Its five latest data centers were renewably powered, Greenpeace pointed out.
Google, too, has been taking steps toward a renewably powered Google Cloud, and is improving its deployment of renewable energy in new markets, but was dinged for being less transparent than others, including Apple, Facebook and Switch, in terms of providing facility level energy demand data.
The report called out major tech companies Netflix, Amazon, Samsung, and others.
