Google, along with a handful of other high-profile companies, has announced that they will join New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is participating in the “Carbon Challenge,” an initiative to “cut greenhouse gases, improve air quality, and fight climate change.”
Google has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its NYC offices by at least 30%, and up to 40% over the next 10 years.
As a whole, the “Carbon Challenge” hopes to cut emissions in municipal buildings by 30% by 2017.
“When it comes to greening Google’s office buildings, we apply the same focus that we use for any of our products: put the user first,” said Ben Fried, Chief Information Officer for Google. “Creating facilities with leading environmental performance improves the health and productivity of our employees around the world. It also helps us reduce waste, save energy and water, and improve indoor air quality. Through our participation in the NYC Mayor’s Carbon Challenge, we hope to inspire companies of all shapes and sizes to take innovative approaches to reduce their own environmental footprint.”
Bloomberg announced that the citywide emissions are down 16%, which is over half of their stated goal.
“The Carbon Challenge is an essential partnership between the City and our businesses, universities and organizations who share our commitment to a greener, greater New York,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “I want to applaud the commitment of the 10 companies making the Carbon Challenge pledge, as well as the universities and hospitals that have already taken steps to become more efficient. Their leadership on this issue is not only going to move our city toward a more sustainable future; we also hope it will inspire others to follow suit.”
The other companies joining Google in signing on to this initiative are American International Group, BlackRock, Bloomberg LP, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JetBlue Airways, JPMorgan Chase, and PVH. The initiative already has 17 universities and 11 major hospitals on board.