Climate change has become a pressing concern in recent years as we continue the pay the price for rising carbon footprint that has led to adversities like heatwaves, increasing sea levels, forest fires and accelerated natural resource depletion.
Sustainable practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century are undoubtedly a priority for most industries. The technology sector is helping many companies, including themselves, to reduce carbon footprint through meaningful solutions. Players in the technology space are harnessing digital advancements to support climate action goals.
As per the World Economic Forum’s insights, leading technology companies including Amazon AMZN have committed themselves to 100% renewable electricity.
Moreover, connected technologies are helping enterprises utilize renewable resources efficiently, and thereby maintain a tab on power usage effectiveness (PUE) ratio.
With cloud computing expanding exponentially, data center cooling needs to consume a lot of energy. This is an area where many leading technology firms are striving to achieve an optimal PUE, as per the data provided by Bloomberg.
Further, smart grids are helping companies better balance the demand for renewable energy with supply. Technology is also helping to make autonomous vehicles the norm, thereby reducing air pollution.
With such facts against the backdrop, let’s take a look at some of the players from the Zacks Computer and Technology sector that uphold environmentally friendly operational standards, and are setting new highs in the area of sustainability.
Technology Companies Committed to Environment Goals
Microsoft MSFT has remained committed toward making its data centers run on renewable energy sources. In fact, by the end of 2019, 60% of the company’s data centers will run on renewable energy, while targeting to reach 70% by 2023, according to a report from TechRepublic.
Microsoft has also joined Sony and Amazon in adopting environmentally friendly approaches in the consoles front. The company is developing carbon neutral Xboxes, as highlighted by Engadget. It is also on track with expanding its AI for Earth program.
Apple AAPL is one of few technology companies that have gone to great lengths to exemplify awareness regarding the environment. While the company itself focuses on 100% renewable energy to power data centers, it has also been successful at convincing almost 44 of its suppliers to use clean energy.
Moreover, the company in its 13th annual Supplier Responsibility Report highlighted important moves pertaining to the Zero Waste to Landfill initiative. The company highlights that all of its final assembly sites for devices, including iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches to name a few, are certified with Zero Waste to Landfill. The move is helping to conserve billions of gallons of water while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Year-to-Date Performance
Alphabet’s GOOGL Google also upholds strong commitments toward developing leading solutions for reducing emissions. According to a report from TechRepublic, Google’s decision to operate on 100% clean energy helps in taking away five million tons of carbon emissions from the atmosphere each year.
Moreover, the company is committed to achieving carbon-neutral shipping and recycled plastic for all devices including Pixel phones, Chromecast and Google Home Minis, by 2020. Google is also utilizing AI capabilities to control data center cooling requirements and keep its PUE low. The company has also come up with a new accelerator program to encourage startups adopt sustainability products.
Further, International Business Machines IBM is making considerable progress in utilizing renewable energy sources across its facilities. According to Forbes, the company targets to source 55% of its energy requirements from renewable sources by the end of 2025.
Additionally, IBM is closely working with The Freshwater Trust, SweetSense, and the University of Colorado to use blockchain and IoT technologies to monitor the extraction of groundwater in California’s Sacramento San Joaquin River Delta.
Intel INTC also holds a long-standing commitment toward the environment which has also helped it achieve cost-efficiency and respond to the needs of community stakeholders. The company targets to reduce direct greenhouse gas emission by 10% per unit by 2020. Moreover, Intel has invested in a number of water conservation projects across its facilities.
Zacks Rank
Microsoft currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 11.9%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Apple, Alphabet, IBM and Intel currently carry a Zacks Rank # 3 (Hold). Each of the companies carries a long-term earnings growth rate of 10.5%, 16.7%, 5% and 7.5%, respectively.
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