Tag Archives: Sustainability

Using cloud technology for the good of the planet

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on our Google Cloud blog.

Climate change is a global issue that is getting more urgent by the year, with the past decade recorded as the hottest since records began 140 years ago. The global IT infrastructure contributes to the global carbon footprint, with an estimated 1% of the global electricity consumption attributed to data centers alone.

The good news is that companies are capable of changing course and taking action for the environment. To create the world’s cleanest cloud, here’s a look at what Google Cloud has been focusing on over the past two decades.


Renewable energy and climate neutrality

Computer centers, offices, and infrastructure will continue to require a lot of electricity in the years to come. And sourcing clean energy will become all the more important for companies to pave the way for a renewable future. As the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy, Google’s mission isn’t just to use carbon-free energy internally, but to make it available to consumers everywhere.

Regular milestones reinforce this mission. In 2007, Google became the first climate-neutral company. In 2017, it became the first company compensating 100% of its energy consumption with renewable energy. Not to mention the years prior: by now, Google has invested enough in high-quality climate compensations to compensate for all its emissions since the company was founded in 1998.

Looking ahead to the future, Google recently announced its commitment to become the first major company to operate fully carbon-free by 2030. That means: 100% carbon-free energy, 24/7.


Smart and efficient data centers

Data centers play an important role in this sustainability strategy. The more efficiently they operate, the more sustainably customers can use Google Cloud solutions. Energy-saving servers, highly efficient computer chips, and innovative water supply solutions for cooling systems are just a few examples of efficiency-enhancing measures in Google’s data centers.

Google Cloud is committed to using these technologies as part of a comprehensive sustainability strategy. But it’s not enough to be efficient on paper, it must be measurable too. That’s why Google calculates a so-called Power Usage Effectiveness value. The result: on average, a Google data center is twice as energy efficient as a typical enterprise data center.


Waste prevention with a circular economy

In a circular economy, materials, components, and products are manufactured in such a way that they can be reused, repaired, or recycled. It’s based on three core principles, which Google follows: designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and promoting healthy materials and safe chemistry. In 2019, Google found a new purpose for 90% of the waste products from its global data center operations and 19% of the components used for server upgrades were refurbished inventory.


Using AI to reduce food waste

Because companies can reduce their ecological footprint with advanced technologies, Google Cloud seeks to make our tools as user-friendly as possible. Many of our solutions put a strong emphasis on sustainability.

Sustainability was a top of mind for French retail group Carrefour, for example, when it established a partnership with Google Cloud in 2018. The problem? Every year, European supermarkets throw away more than four million tons of food. That’s ten kilograms per EU citizen. To reduce food waste, Carrefour and Google Cloud started a joint project for an AI solution that enables precise forecasts for the demands for fresh products in each store. This minimizes waste, as well as costs because employees get the right information they need to fill shelves depending on the existing demand.


Working toward a sustainable future, together

Another partnership, which uses technology to drive sustainability, exists between Google Cloud, WWF Sweden and the British fashion label Stella McCartney. The fashion industry is responsible for about 20% of global water waste and 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. The result of this collaboration: a tool that gives fashion labels a better overview of their supply chains and delivers actionable insights on how to reduce emissions and waste when procuring raw materials.

Sustainable actions have a real impact on our environment, and they also require teamwork. That’s why Google Cloud develops tools and technologies that help other companies and organizations worldwide to become active and create a more sustainable future for our planet.

Find out more on our sustainability page.

Restor helps anyone be a part of ecological restoration

In the face of a rapidly warming planet, protecting and restoring the world’s ecosystems is critical for safeguarding the biodiversity we all depend on and for helping us adapt to a changing climate. In addition, restoring ecosystems around the world has the potential to draw down about 30% of accumulated global carbon emissions and is key to limiting the worst effects of climate change. But where do we start and how?

How Google technology helps unlock ecological insights

As part of their work to better understand the relationship between ecological systems and climate change, professor Thomas Crowther and scientists at ETH Zurich’s Crowther Lab analyzed 78,000 images of tree cover and applied machine learning (ML) models to predict where trees could naturally grow. The findings revealed a thrilling opportunity: outside of urban and agricultural areas, there are approximately 0.9 billion hectares of degraded lands worldwide that could potentially support an additional trillion trees. The discovery catapulted restoration into the headlines, and Crowther Lab saw a need to support new and existing restoration projects by bringing together practitioners and scientists to form a global network — and to make the movement accessible to the public.

The result is Restor, which launches this week. Founded by Crowther Lab and powered by Google Earth Engine and Google Cloud, Restor allows anyone to analyze the restoration potential of any place on Earth. When you outline a given area on the Restor map, it will show you data on local biodiversity, current and potential soil carbon, and other variables like land cover, soil PH and annual rainfall. With this information, anyone can better understand their local environment and become a restoration practitioner. The platform connects practitioners, facilitates the exchange of information, and makes projects visible to potential funders and the public.

Designers, animators and creative technologists from Google Creative Lab helped design and develop the platform. Additional support, in the form of a $1 million grant from Google.org, is helping the Restor team test new ways to monitor ecosystem restoration progress by collecting data on indicators such as tree size and density, soil moisture, and vegetation structure from various restoration projects currently underway. Insights from this data will help Restor’s machine learning models deliver more accurate ecological insights, monitor project development, enable early intervention in at-risk areas, and help restoration organizations learn from one another.

Working together to expand the global restoration movement

Restor is making essential scientific data and high-resolution satellite imagery openly accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world with an internet connection. As the effort to invest in and support ecosystem restoration grows, we want to make sure that everyone can effectively measure progress. To do that, there needs to be sector-wide standards for tracking restoration metrics, such as the quantity of vegetation and soil carbon, native species abundance and survival rate. To support standardization, Google.org is granting $500,000 to Climate Focus to support the Global Restoration Observatory, which will bring together leading data providers, think tanks and restoration experts to do just that.

To protect and reverse the degradation of billions of hectares of ecosystems, we all need to get involved. Through our support for organizations like Restor and Climate Focus, we hope to empower a global restoration movement and make it possible for groups and individuals everywhere to heal our planet.

Te ofrecemos más opciones sustentables con Google

El cambio climático ya no es una amenaza lejana, sino algo cada vez más local y personal. En todo el mundo, los incendios forestales, las inundaciones y otras condiciones climáticas afectan nuestra salud, nuestras economías y nuestro futuro juntos en el planeta. Necesitamos soluciones urgentes y significativas para abordar este desafío apremiante. Es por eso que el año pasado nos comprometimos a alcanzar, para el año 2030, el ambicioso objetivo de operar nuestros campus y centros de datos con energía libre de carbono de forma permanente.

Las empresas no son las únicas que se preguntan qué más podemos hacer para ayudar al planeta; cada vez más, las personas también se hacen esas preguntas. Por eso, hoy compartimos varias maneras nuevas en las que las personas pueden usar los productos de Google para tomar decisiones sustentables. Entre ellas, presentamos nuevas funciones para reservar vuelos o comprar electrodomésticos que tienen una huella de carbono más baja, un programa de Nest para apoyar la energía limpia en el hogar y nuevas rutas ecológicas en Google Maps, que comienzan a implementarse hoy. Y cuando las personas acudan a la Búsqueda de Google con preguntas sobre el cambio climático, mostraremos información fidedigna de fuentes como las Naciones Unidas, además de las fuentes de noticias existentes que actualmente presentamos en los resultados. Estos esfuerzos forman parte de nuestro objetivo de ayudar a mil millones de personas a tomar decisiones más sustentables para 2022.

Ahora se podrán ver las emisiones de carbono por asiento para cada vuelo en Google Flights.

Viaja y compra de manera más sustentable

Estamos agregando nuevas herramientas para ayudar a tomar decisiones sobre viajes: desde qué vuelos reservar hasta dónde hospedarse. Con un lanzamiento global, ahora incluímos información sobre emisiones de carbono en Google Flights. Podrás ver las emisiones de carbono asociadas por asiento a cada vuelo y encontrar al instante opciones con menos emisiones. Y cuando busques hoteles, verás información sobre los esfuerzos de sustentabilidad, desde la reducción de desechos y las medidas de conservación del agua hasta las certificaciones Green Key o EarthCheck obtenidas.

También ayudamos a las personas a tomar decisiones más sustentables cuando compran, comenzando por los electrodomésticos. Cuando busques productos que consuman mucha energía, como hornos, lavavajillas o calentadores de agua, las sugerencias en la pestaña Compras te ayudarán a limitar la búsqueda a opciones rentables y sustentables.

Apoyando la energía limpia en el hogar

Desde hace más de una década, los termostatos Nest ayudan a ahorrar energía en casa. Hoy damos un paso más conun nuevo servicio llamado Nest Renew. Con una función llamada Energy Shift, los termostatos Nest compatibles pueden ayudar a los usuarios a cambiar automáticamente el uso de electricidad para calefacción y enfriamiento a los momentos en los que la energía es más limpia o menos costosa. Para aquellos que quieran ayudar más a apoyar el crecimiento de la energía limpia, ofrecemos una opción de suscripción paga, Renew Premium, que igualará el consumo estimado de electricidad de combustibles fósiles de los usuarios en el hogar con créditos de energía renovable generados a partir de plantas solares y eólicas de EE.UU.

Nos movemos con mayor sustentabilidad

Viajar en auto es una de las decisiones con mayor generación de carbono que las personas toman a diario. A partir de hoy en EE.UU., y en Europa en 2022, Google Maps te permitirá elegir la ruta con menor cantidad de emisiones de carbono, en el caso que no sea la ruta más rápida. Estimamos que esto podría ahorrar más de un millón de toneladas de emisiones de carbono por año, el equivalente a retirar más de 200,000 automóviles de la carretera, además de permitir a los usuarios ahorrar dinero gracias a la reducción del consumo de combustible.

Puedes escoger la ruta con menor emisiones de carbono en Google Maps.

También estamos trabajando para asegurarnos que los autos que permanezcan en la carretera sean ecológicos. En la Búsqueda de Google, estamos haciendo que sea más sencillo ver las opciones de vehículos híbridos y eléctricos, compararlas con los modelos a gasolina y encontrar descuentos para que sepas el costo real antes de comprar. Estas funciones se lanzarán en EE.UU. este año, y habrá más en 2022.

Por supuesto que, a menudo, la opción más sustentable simplemente no involucra al automóvil. Es por eso que presentamos funciones de navegación más sencillas para los ciclistas en Maps y facilitamos la búsqueda de bicicletas y scooters compartidos en más de 300 ciudades de todo el mundo.

Inteligencia artificial para semáforos más eficientes

Las primeras investigaciones indican que la inteligencia artificial puede ayudar a las ciudades a hacer que sus semáforos sean más eficientes haciendo que cada ruta sea más ecológica, sin importar el medio de transporte.

Las primeras investigaciones indican que la inteligencia artificial puede ayudar a las ciudades a hacer que sus semáforos sean más eficientes haciendo que cada ruta sea más ecológica, sin importar el medio de transporte.

Al mismo tiempo, buscamos formas de hacer que las rutas sean más eficientes en toda una ciudad, con investigaciones iniciales donde se utiliza inteligencia artificial para optimizar la eficiencia de los semáforos. Pusimos a prueba esta investigación en Israel para predecir las condiciones de tráfico y mejorar los tiempos en los que cambian las luces de los semáforos, y observamos una reducción de entre el 10% y el 20% en el combustible y el tiempo de demora en las intersecciones. Nos entusiasma el potencial de estas pruebas y estamos en conversaciones para expandirnos a Río de Janeiro y otras ciudades.

La nube más limpia de la industria

Aparte de a los individuos, ayudamos a clientes empresariales como Whirlpool, Etsy, HSBC, Unilever y Salesforce a desarrollar nuevas soluciones en función de los desafíos específicos del cambio climático que enfrentan, de modo que puedan beneficiarse con la nube más limpia de la industria. Hace poco, lanzamos herramientas para ayudar a las empresas a elegir regiones más limpias donde ubicar sus recursos de Google Cloud. Y la próxima semana, en Google Cloud Next '21, anunciaremos más formas en las que cada empresa puede construir un futuro más sustentable.

Más sustentabilidad con Google

En todos estos esfuerzos, nuestro objetivo es hacer que la opción sustentable sea una elección más fácil. En el nivel individual, estas opciones pueden parecer pequeñas, pero cuando las multiplicas en todos nuestros productos, equivalen a grandes mejoras. Necesitaremos eso y más para prevenir las peores consecuencias del cambio climático. Seguiremos trabajando para generar formas en las que nuestros productos puedan ayudar.

Giving you more sustainable choices with Google

Climate change is no longer a distant threat — it’s increasingly local and personal. Around the world, wildfires, flooding and other extreme weather continue to affect our health, our economies and our future together on our planet. We need urgent and meaningful solutions to address this pressing challenge. That’s why last year we committed to bold action to run our data centers and campuses on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030.

Companies aren’t the only ones asking what more we can do to help the planet — increasingly people are asking themselves those questions, too. So today we’re sharing several new ways people can use Google’s products to make sustainable choices. Among them, we’re introducing new features to book flights or purchase appliances that have lower carbon footprints, a Nest program to support clean energy from home, and eco-friendly routing on Google Maps — which is rolling out today. And when people come to Google Search with questions about climate change, we’ll show authoritative information from sources like the United Nations, in addition to the existing news sources that we currently raise up in the carousel. It’s all part of our goal to help one billion people make more sustainable choices by 2022.

You can now see carbon emissions per seat for every flight in Google Flights.

Travel and shop more sustainably

We’re adding new features to help make decisions about travel — from what flights to book to where to stay. Launching globally today, we’re bringing carbon emissions information to Google Flights. You’ll be able to see associated carbon emissions per seat for every flight, and quickly find lower-carbon options. And when you search for hotels, you’ll see information on their sustainability efforts, from waste reduction and water conservation measures to whether they’re Green Key or EarthCheck certified.

We’re also helping people make more sustainable choices when they shop, starting with home appliances. When you search for energy-intensive products like furnaces, dishwashers or water heaters, suggestions in the Shopping tab will help narrow your search to cost-effective and sustainable options.

Supporting clean energy from home

For over a decade, Nest thermostats have helped people save energy at home. Today we are taking these efforts a step further with a new service called Nest Renew. Using a feature called Energy Shift, compatible Nest thermostats can help users automatically shift electricity usage for heating and cooling to times when energy is cleaner or less expensive. For those who want to do more to help support the growth of clean energy, we will offer a paid subscription option, Renew Premium, that will match your fossil fuel electricity at home with high-quality renewable energy credits generated from the same projects in Google's energy portfolio.

Getting around more sustainably

Traveling by car is one of the more carbon-intensive choices people make on a daily basis. Starting today in the U.S., and in Europe in 2022, Google Maps will let you choose the most fuel-efficient route if it isn’t already the fastest one. We estimate that this could save over one million tons of carbon emissions per year — the equivalent of removing over 200,000 cars from the road — and save you money by reducing fuel consumption.

You can choose the most eco-friendly route in Google Maps.

We're also working to make sure the cars that remain on the road are eco-friendly. On Search, we're making it easier to see hybrid and electric vehicle options, compare them against gas-powered models, and find rebates so you know the true cost before you buy. These features will start to roll out in the U.S. this year, with more to come in 2022.

Of course, the most sustainable choice often doesn't involve a car at all. That’s why we’re introducing lite navigation for cyclists on Maps, and making it simpler to find bikes and scooter shares in over 300 cities around the world.

AI for more efficient traffic lights

Illustration of an intersection showing cars, a stoplight and roadways.

Early research indicates that AI can help cities make their traffic lights more efficient, making every route more eco-friendly no matter the car.

At the same time, we’re finding ways to make routes more efficient, across an entire city, with early research into using artificial intelligence to optimize the efficiency of traffic lights. We’ve been piloting this research in Israel to predict traffic conditions and improve the timing of when traffic lights change. So far, we are seeing a 10-20% reduction in fuel consumption and delay time at intersections. We’re excited to expand these pilots to Rio de Janeiro and beyond.

Cleanest cloud in the industry

We’re also helping business customers like Whirlpool, Etsy, HSBC, Unilever and Salesforce develop new solutions for the specific climate change challenges they face, and benefit from the cleanest cloud in the industry. We recently launched tools to help businesses choose cleaner regions to locate their Google Cloud resources. And next week at Google Cloud Next ‘21, we’ll announce more ways every company can choose to be more sustainable.

More sustainable with Google

In all these efforts, our goal is to make the sustainable choice an easier choice. At the individual level, these choices may seem small, but when people have the tools to make them at scale, they equal big improvements. We’ll need nothing less to avert the worst consequences of climate change, and we’ll continue to find ways our products can help.

How we’re partnering with the energy industry on Nest Renew

Today, Google announced Nest Renew — a service built on the premise that to address climate change, we need a more flexible electricity grid. And that grid should be integrated with a wide range of distributed energy resources, like those found in smart homes.

But we can’t accomplish this without engaged consumers and a broad coalition of both local and national partners working together. That’s why today, we’re partnering with a number of energy providers and nonprofits that are committed to collaborating to create a clean energy future.

How we’re partnering with energy providers

To start, we’re partnering with AES, Consumers Energy, Duke Energy, NRG, Portland General Electric, Southern California Edison and Southern Company — some of the most innovative energy providers in the country that are committed to the Nest Renew vision and a carbon-free, resilient energy grid. These partners have provided invaluable insight and feedback as we’ve defined the Nest Renew service.

Through Nest Renew, energy providers will have new opportunities to engage consumers with time-of-use rates, increase demand response program participation and facilitate consumer support for renewable energy. For customers, it will be an opportunity to better understand and control their energy usage and prioritize the use of carbon-free energy.

Nest Renew also will increase enrollments in energy provider-sponsored Rush Hour Rewards programs, which let customers earn rewards for using less when energy consumption is high and make it easier for utilities to manage the grid during times of peak demand. We’re already working with a number of partners to deliver these programs in over 80 utility territories and wholesale markets, covering more than 40% of consumers in the U.S.

We’re also partnering with Uplight to make it easier in the future for customers to link their utility accounts to unlock personalized energy savings insights, program recommendations and device rebates. Together, we aim to help customers and utilities reach their load management goals.

This is just the start of our collaboration on Nest Renew. We’re always looking to partner with more energy providers on our work towards decarbonization.

How we’re partnering on Clean Energy Match

We’re also working with partners to support the growth of clean energy with Nest Renew Premium’s Clean Energy Match. During early preview, we will source Nest Renew’s renewable energy credits from the Southern Company Bethel Wind plant in Castro County, Texas. In 2023, they will also come from the future Roseland Solar project in Falls County, TX. These plants will both help meet Google’s ongoing commitment to match 100% of its global annual electricity use with renewable energy and support its goal to operate entirely on24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030. You can learn more about Clean Energy Match in our deep dive article.

We’re also partnering with AES and NRG to identify or develop the wind and solar that can generate RECs for Clean Energy Match, as well as collaborating with Consumers and SCE with the aim of supporting their renewable deployment efforts.

How we’re partnering with nonprofits

Through the Energy Impact Program, customers earn Leafs by actively using Nest Renew and taking actions at home that can save energy and help the environment. As they reach certain Leaf milestones, in certain states they can vote to direct Nest Renew funds to their choice of nonprofits from our list of partners across the U.S. Our founding nonprofit partners are GRID Alternatives and Elevate. We’ll work with them to understand how Nest Renew can have the most impact.

And we’re always looking to collaborate with more local partners to expand the reach of the Energy Impact Program.

Learn more

You can learn more about Nest Renew in our blog post, as well as our deep dive into the service. You can also read a white paper by RMI, formerly the Rocky Mountain Institute, which concludes that products like Nest Renew could significantly reduce the carbon emissions associated with household energy use.

According to RMI, if 10 million households participate, Nest Renew could address approximately 7% of the gap between today’s level of household emissions and a 50% reduction in line with the current overall U.S. policy target. That’s the equivalent of powering about 50 million EVs with a cleaner grid each year, as opposed to today's fossil-fuel heavy grid.

Support clean energy right from home with Nest Renew

Many people are eager to live more sustainably and help address one of our generation’s most profound challenges: climate change. At Nest, we believe taking small, simple actions every day is a great way to start. Homes are some of the largest consumers of energy in the U.S., and over the past decade, Nest thermostats have helped people save over 80 billion kWh of energy at home — enough to power 23 million electric cars for a year.

But we know people want to do even more at home to help our planet. The problem is that it can be hard to know where to start and whether you’re making a real difference.

That’s why today we’re announcing Nest Renew — a service for your Nest thermostat that makes it easy to support a clean energy future, right from home.

Support clean energy with your Nest thermostat

Nest thermostats have always helped you heat and cool your home more efficiently, while also keeping you comfortable. They can now do even more with a Nest Renew feature called Energy Shift.

The electricity that powers our homes comes from different energy sources that vary based on the time of day — often a mix of clean energy (like solar and wind farms) and not-so-clean, fossil fuel-based energy (like gas and coal). Energy Shift works with your thermostat to help you automatically shift your heating and cooling electricity usage to times when your grid is cleaner, without sacrificing comfort. It can also adjust your thermostat’s schedule to run even more efficiently in both summer and winter.

Some electricity providers have time-of-use rates, where costs vary by time of day. If you’re on a plan like that, Energy Shift can help you save by automatically shifting usage to less expensive energy times.

We make these shifts while maintaining the comfort in your home — but you always have the ability to adjust your thermostat directly.

See your impact and your power

Nest Renew comes with monthly impact reports, so you can track the difference you and the Nest Renew community are making. It also shows you when the electricity coming into your home is cleaner and when it’s not so clean throughout the day, so you can make more informed choices — like running the washing machine a little earlier or later, when your grid is cleaner.

Rendering of a laptop and a smartphone next to each other with the "Our collective impact" page pulled up on each screen.

And you can extend your impact by earning Renew Leafs and putting them to work through Nest Renew’s Energy Impact Program. The Leaf icon on your Nest thermostat has always shown you you’re saving energy. Now you have more ways to earn Leafs — like when you use Energy Shift or commit to a monthly challenge, such as running your laundry on cold to save energy.

When you’ve earned enough Leafs to reach a milestone, the Energy Impact Program will let you vote to direct Nest Renew funds to your choice of nonprofits from our list of partners across the U.S., like GRID Alternatives and Elevate. These can range from supporting clean energy career training to expanding access to clean energy options like rooftop or community solar projects in communities around the country.

As the U.S. transitions to a carbon-free grid, these types of projects are important to building the new energy economy in a just and equitable way. And our partners are on the ground bringing the benefits of clean energy to low-income, underserved and communities of color across the country.

Support the growth of clean energy

With Nest Renew, you can make better use of the clean energy that’s on the grid today. But we also want to support the growth of clean energy.

Since 2010, Google has signed agreements to buy power from more than 50 renewable energy projects, helping bring more than 5.5 gigawatts of new wind and solar energy to grids around the world — about the same as a million solar rooftops. Nest Renew Premium builds on Google’s leadership and allows you to support the growth of clean energy right from your home.

For $10 a month, Renew Premium unlocks Clean Energy Match. This feature will match your estimated fossil fuel electricity use at home with renewable energy credits (RECs) from U.S. solar and wind plants. Initially, these will come from the Bethel Wind project in Castro County, TX, and in 2023, will also come from the future Roseland Solar project in Falls County, TX. Both of these projects will also provide renewable energy for Google. And these are just the first examples — we’ll add additional solar and wind projects over time.

With Clean Energy Match, you can have confidence that every time you use electricity in your home — whether it’s turning on the lights, running the laundry or watching TV — it’s supporting clean energy sources.

As more people join, we can collectively support more clean energy production on the grid. You can learn more about Clean Energy Match in this deep dive.

Strength in numbers

Since 2013, we’ve partnered with the energy industry to help customers earn rewards and help utility providers better manage local grids. And to truly address climate change, we need to work with energy providers across the U.S. that are committed to a more dynamic, smarter grid — by helping to build a smarter home. Learn more about our partners.

And Nest Renew complements the electric service you receive from your utility provider, so there’s no need to make any changes to your service.

What’s next

Renew Basic will be available for free across the continental U.S., and Renew Premium will be available for $10 per month in select U.S. markets and expanding over time. You’ll be able to use Nest Renew if you have a 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat, the Nest Thermostat E or the newest Nest Thermostat connected to a Google account. Nest Renew begins rolling out in early preview by invitation in the coming weeks. Sign up at nestrenew.google.com to join the waitlist.

Together, we can support a clean energy future. Because when we each do a little, it adds up to a lot.

3 new ways to navigate more sustainably with Maps

Vehicles on the road account for over 75% of transportation CO2 emissions and are one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gasses worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency. Today at our Sustainable with Google event, we’re announcing three new Google Maps updates to help lower these emissions and provide people with greener choices when getting from A to B.

Eco-friendly routing: now live ?

Earlier this year, we announced that Google Maps would be updated with an entirely new routing model that not only gets you to your destination as quickly as possible, but also optimizes for lower fuel consumption — which saves you money on gas. Thanks to AI and insights from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), eco-friendly routing is rolling out now in the U.S. on Android and iOS, with plans to expand to Europe and beyond in 2022. We estimate that eco-friendly routing has the potential to prevent over one million tons of carbon emissions per year — that’s the equivalent of removing over 200,000 cars from the road.

Now, in addition to showing the fastest route, Google Maps will also display the one that's the most fuel-efficient, if it doesn’t happen to also be the fastest. With just a few taps, you can see the relative fuel savings and ETA difference between the two routes and choose the one that works best for you. Always want to choose the fastest route, no matter what? That’s okay too — simply adjust your preferences in Settings.

According to Jeff Gonder, Center for Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences at NREL, this is a positive change for everyone. “Not only does Google Maps' eco-friendly routing bring NREL’s fuel-efficient technology from the lab to the road, but it has huge potential to significantly lower emissions and save drivers money on gas — something that’s good for both people and the planet.”

With eco-friendly routing, Google Maps will show you the fastest route and the one that’s most fuel-efficient — so you can choose whichever one works best for you.

Lite navigation for cyclists: coming soon ?‍♀️

Over the past year, the use of biking directions on Maps have increased by up to 98% in cities around the world — making it clear that people are opting for two-wheeled transportation. We’ve heard from a lot of bikers that they don’t want to enter turn-by-turn navigation when they’re cycling since their phone is usually tucked away for most of their ride. To make it easier to get around via bike, we’re introducing a feature called lite navigation.

With lite navigation, cyclists can quickly see important details about their route without needing to keep their screen on or enter turn-by-turn navigation. At a glance, you can track your trip progress, see your ETA update in real-time, and even know the elevation of your route so you can keep your focus where it needs to be — on the road. Lite navigation starts rolling out wherever cycling navigation is live on Android and iOS in the coming months.

With lite navigation, you can track your trip progress, see your ETA update, and know your elevation without entering turn-by-turn navigation.

Bike and scooter share information: now in 300 cities ?

When it comes to eco-friendly alternatives to driving, we want to keep your options open. That’s why we’ve expanded bike and scooter share information to over 300 cities around the world on Android and iOS.

From Google Maps, you can find nearby stations and even pinpoint how many vehicles are available at that moment in places like Berlin, New York, São Paulo and Taipei. And when you’re done with your ride, you can make sure there’s a place to park before heading over to the station. This expansion is made possible thanks to micro-mobility partners like Donkey Republic, Tier and Voi base in Europe, along with Bird and Spin, which are headquartered in the U.S.

Bike and scooter share information is now live in 300 cities around the globe.

Find flights with lower carbon emissions

Last month, we shared new sustainability initiatives from our travel team, including ways you can find eco-certified hotels on Google. Now, we’re bringing information on carbon emissions directly into Google Flights.

Beginning today, you’ll see a carbon emissions estimate for nearly every flight in the search results — right next to the price and duration of the flight. So when you’re choosing among flights of similar cost or timing, you can also factor carbon emissions into your decision.

Google Flights shows estimated carbon emissions in the search results.

These emissions estimates are flight-specific as well as seat-specific. For instance, newer aircraft are generally less polluting than older aircraft, and emissions increase for premium economy and first-class seats because they take up more space and account for a larger share of total emissions. 

To put these estimates in context, flights with significantly lower emissions will be labeled with a green badge. And if you want to prioritize carbon impact, you can sort all of the results to bring the greenest flights to the top of the list.

An image showing search results for flights from Dublin to Munich on Google Flights, sorted by estimated carbon emissions. A pop-up window shows how one flight's emissions estimates compares to the average for that route.

You can sort results by carbon emissions and see how each flight compares to the average.

To produce these estimates, we’re combining data from the European Environmental Agency with the flight-specific information we get from airlines and other providers such as aircraft type, trip distance and the number of seats in each seating class. To learn more on how we estimate emissions, visit our Help Center.

It’s critical that people can find consistent and accurate carbon emissions estimates no matter where they want to research or book their trip. That’s why we recently joined the Travalyst coalition, where we’ll help develop an open model for calculating carbon emissions from air travel and promote standardization across the travel industry using this framework.

This update to Google Flights is just one of the many ways we’re helping people make sustainable choices in their everyday lives. Read the latest in this post from Sundar Pichai.

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Building a sustainable future for travel

When you search for hotels on Google, you’ll now see information about their sustainability efforts.

Read Article

How 5 cities plan to use Tree Canopy to fight climate change

Planting trees in cities helps provide shade, lower temperatures and contribute to cleaner air — all of which are huge benefits when it comes to adapting to the effects of climate change. That’s why we’re expanding our Environmental Insights Explorer Tree Canopy insights to more than 100 cities around the world next year, helping local governments fight climate change. We chatted with city officials in Los Angeles, Louisville, Chicago, Austin and Miami to learn more about how they plan to use Tree Canopy insights to build thriving, sustainable cities in 2021 and beyond.

Los Angeles

An image showing tree canopy coverage in Los Angeles

Tree canopy coverage in Los Angeles

Los Angeles was the first city to pilot Tree Canopy Insights. Since then it’s become an essential part of the city’s goal to increase tree canopy coverage by 50% by 2028 in areas of the city with the highest need. The city is working to plant 90,000 trees this year, and Tree Canopy Insights helps them prioritize which neighborhoods need tree shade the most.Rachel Malarich, Los Angeles’ City Forest Officer, and her team use Tree Canopy Insights alongside their inventory system to look at canopy acreage projections, current canopy cover and temperatures. The land use types within the tool allows them to consider the type of outreach needed and opportunities that exist in a given neighborhood. Most importantly, it helps Rachel and her team know which program initiatives are working and which aren’t.

“Tree Canopy Insights’ ability to give us timely feedback allows me to have data to make arguments for changes to the City's policies and procedures, as well as  potentially see the impact of different outreach activities going forward.” - Rachel Malarich, Los Angeles City Forest Officer

Louisville


An image showing tree canopy coverage in Louisville

Tree canopy coverage in Louisville

Similar to other cities, Louisville officials found that monitoring tree coverage on their own was hugely expensive and time intensive. Sometimes it took years to get the accurate, up-to-date data needed to make decisions. 

With Tree Canopy Insights, they’ve been able to glean actionable insights about tree cover faster. In just a few weeks, they’ve pinpointed that the west side of town was losing tree shade at an unprecedented rate and jump started a plan to plant more trees in the area. 

“Planting trees is one of the simplest ways we can reduce the impacts and slow the progress of climate change on our city. With support from Google’s Tree Canopy Insights, Louisville can enhance its ongoing surveillance of hot spots and heat islands and understand the impact of land use and development patterns on tree canopy coverage.“ – Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer

Austin

An image showing tree canopy coverage in Austin

Tree canopy coverage in Austin

Austin’s summers are hot with the heat regularly reaching over 90 degrees. Using Tree Canopy Insights, Marc Coudert, an environmental program manager for the city, noticed a troubling trend: ambient temperatures were higher in the eastern part of the city, known as the Eastern Crescent. With these insights, Marc and the City’s forestry team developed Austin’s Community Tree Priority Map and doubled down on planting trees in neighborhoods in the Eastern Crescent to make sure there was equitable tree canopy coverage across the city. 

“At the city of Austin, we’re committed to making data-backed decisions that bring equity to all of our communities. Google’s Tree Canopy Insights empowers us to do exactly that.” - Austin Mayor Steve Adler

Chicago

An image showing tree canopy coverage in Chicago

Tree canopy coverage in Chicago

Chicago’s Department of Public Health understands that planting trees is an essential part of promoting health and racial equity. After all, a lack of trees can be associated with chronic diseases like asthma, heart disease and mental health conditions. With Tree Canopy Insights, the department discovered that their hottest neighborhoods are often also the most disadvantaged — making these communities extremely vulnerable. With the use of this tool, the City of Chicago is committed to focusing their tree planting efforts specifically on these high-risk areas. 

"Trees not only provide our city with shade, green spaces and beauty, but they are also precious resources that produce clean air — making them key to shaping our sustainable future. Through this partnership with Google, our sustainability and public health teams will have access to real-time insights on our tree coverage that will inform how we develop and execute our equitable approach to building a better Chicago landscape. I look forward to seeing how this technology uses our city's natural resources to benefit all of our residents."  - Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot.

Miami

An image showing tree canopy coverage in Miami

Tree canopy coverage in Miami

Miami gets over 60 inches of rain per year, leading to potentially devastating effects from flooding and infrastructure damage. To address this, the city recently launched their Stormwater Master Plan. The multi-year initiative has already resulted in over 4,000 trees planted, translating to an additional 400,000 gallons of water absorption capacity per day. Moving forward, the city plans to use Tree Canopy Insights to evolve and improve this plan.

“Google’s Tree Canopy Insights is going to help us build on the progress of our Stormwater Master Plan in smarter, more effective ways. We believe that every city needs to be a “tech city,” and leveraging Google’s AI capabilities to improve every Miamians quality of life is exactly what I mean by that.” – Miami Mayor Francis Suarez

If you’re part of a local government and think Tree Canopy Insights could help your community, please get in touch with our team by filling out this form.

Building a sustainable future for travel

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to booking travel: price, health and safety, environmental impact and more. Last year, we shared travel tools to help you find health and safety information. Now we want to make it easier for you to find sustainable options while traveling — no matter what you’re doing or where you’re going.  


To make that happen, we’ve created a new team of engineers, designers and researchers focused solely on travel sustainability. Already, this team is working to highlight sustainable options within our travel tools that people use every day. 


Beginning this week, when you search for hotels on Google, you’ll see information about their sustainability efforts. Hotels that are certified for meeting high standards of sustainability from certain independent organizations, like Green Key or EarthCheck, will have an eco-certified badge next to their name. Want to dive into a hotel’s specific sustainability practices? Click on the “About” tab to see a list of what they’re doing — from waste reduction efforts and sustainably sourced materials to energy efficiency and water conservation measures.

Someone searches for a hotel in San Francisco and checks the hotel's sustainability attributes.

We’re working with hotels around the world, including independent hotels and chains such as Hilton and Accor, to gather this information and make it easily accessible. If you’re a hotel owner with eco-certifications or sustainability practices you want to share with travelers, simply sign in to Google My Business to add the attributes to your Business Profile or contact Google My Business support. 


Making travel more sustainable isn’t something we can do alone, which is why we’re also joining the global Travalyst coalition. As part of this group, we’ll help develop a standardized way to calculate carbon emissions for air travel. This free, open impact model will provide an industry framework to estimate emissions for a given flight and share that information with potential travelers. We’ll also contribute to the coalition’s sustainability standards for accommodations and work to align our new hotel features with these broader efforts.


All these updates are part of our commitment over the next decade to invest in technologies that help our partners and people around the world make sustainable choices. Look out for more updates in the months ahead as our travel sustainability team works with experts and partners to create a more sustainable future for all.