Achievements and progress of the carbon neutral digital toolboxes of Microsoft, Google, and Apple

In the face of increasingly severe climate change and global warming, the international community has taken active actions to focus on sustainable development
.

In recent years, large technology companies have actively explored the development of a carbon neutral digital toolbox, with a view to using technological means to help themselves, users, and supply chains to better achieve carbon neutrality and sustainable development goals

This article summarizes the achievements and progress of the carbon neutral digital toolboxes of Microsoft, Google, and Apple based on the practice cases and explorations of overseas technology companies for reference.

Relying on low-carbon functions of cloud services to empower users and supply chains

One is to help companies migrate infrastructure and applications to cloud services to improve performance and reduce environmental impact
.

For example, using Google Workspace can reduce corporate IT energy consumption and carbon emissions by up to 87%, while companies using Gmail can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their email services by up to 98%

In addition, Google also helps customers measure the impact of migrating to Google Cloud on sustainable development
.

For example, National Geographic Partners migrated its entire image library application to Google Cloud.
While improving the security and management capabilities of the image library application, it reduced the energy and emissions of the image collection process by approximately 62%

The second is to rely on the powerful partner ecosystem of cloud services to help achieve sustainable development goals
.

By choosing Microsoft Azure as its cloud technology for its unified connection platform, ABB's customers can now take advantage of the enterprise-level cloud infrastructure invested by billions of dollars to actively promote the transformation of society and industries; Honeywell is in its Azure is used in the enterprise performance management software Honeywell Forge, which is integrated with Microsoft Dynamics 365 to enable predictive maintenance applications to improve the performance and energy efficiency of the entire enterprise environment; Johnson Controls relies on Microsoft Azure to digitally change buildings The concept and construction method of the space and the way to achieve energy optimization; Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure digital solution, together with Microsoft Azure, enables everyone to make full use of its energy and resources

Picture: Microsoft released the "Carbon Benefits of Cloud Computing" report[2]

The third is to use digital tools to achieve quantitative analysis of carbon emissions and reduce carbon emissions from cloud services
.

Microsoft's Sustainability Calculator [3] is a tool to help users calculate the carbon emissions of their cloud services

In addition, carbon accounting can be used to measure the impact of Microsoft cloud services on the carbon footprint of users, and calculate how to further reduce emissions by transferring other applications and services to the cloud
.

The Sustainability Calculator uses cloud data to export sustainability information reports, which improves the transparency of carbon emissions while achieving quantitative data analysis, helping customers to better understand and reduce carbon emissions based on cloud services

Figure: Part of the interface of the Microsoft Sustainability Calculator

Develop digital tools to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy waste

Develop digital tools to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy waste

One is to provide intelligent tools to help users choose low-energy and low-cost energy solutions
.

Google's Smart Thermostat (Nest thermostat) [4] is a smart thermostat that automatically adjusts the temperature according to user needs and ambient temperature and actively reduces energy consumption

Google Energy Strategies[5] can provide energy mix simulation function, allowing users to play the role of energy planner, and then choose the best energy mix to meet energy demand
.
The tool includes energy combination models for solar, nuclear power, wind power, natural gas, and coal power.
Users can choose and change the amount of various energy sources in the combination
.
Each option will automatically generate a set of values, including carbon emissions impact, cost effect, and whether to meet energy demand
.
Through this process, users are allowed to understand the relationship between different energy sources and power generation and carbon emissions, so that they can choose a lower-cost and low-carbon way to use electricity
.
Google Project Sunroof (Google Project Sunroof) [6] explores the energy-saving potential of solar energy for users' homes or communities
.

Google uses Google Maps to analyze roof shapes and local weather patterns and develop targeted solar energy plans
.
Then, according to the average household electricity bill and energy consumption, the number of solar panels on the roof is recommended
.
The project also provides price comparisons for solar panel purchases, leases or loans
.
In addition, the project can also estimate the cost of using solar energy based on the roof size and shape, roof shadow area, local weather, local electricity prices, and solar energy costs
.

Figure: Google Rooftop Solar Energy Project Estimated Rooftop Solar Energy Potential in Oklahoma City

The second is to combine big data to control energy distribution and optimize resource allocation
.
Google Global Power Plant Database [7] is a comprehensive open source database of global power plants
.
The database covers approximately 30,000 power plants from 164 countries, including thermal power plants (such as coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear, biomass, and geothermal) and renewable energy power plants (such as hydro, wind, and solar)
.
The database contains the location information of each power plant, power plant capacity, power generation, ownership and fuel type and other information and is constantly updated, making it easier for users to browse, compare and in-depth analysis of global power plant data
.

The third is to develop a clean energy portal website for suppliers to help suppliers clean energy
.
Apple launched the Supplier Clean Energy Program in October 2015 to promote the use of clean energy in the supply chain [8]
.
And develop the Supplier Clean Energy Portal (Supplier Clean Energy Portal) to help suppliers identify renewable energy on a global scale to ensure the advantages of low cost and easy access to clean energy.
Currently, more than 100 suppliers have registered to participate in this website.
Help suppliers to transition to 100% use of clean energy, thereby helping to reduce product-related carbon emissions and creating a more flexible supply chain
.

Empower green transportation and create green travel

Empower green transportation and create green travel

One is to provide real-time traffic information to help users choose low-carbon travel options
.
Google Flights [9] is a flight information query platform, including flights, hotels, accommodation, real-time travel warning and other information, and provides personalized journey exploration functions
.
On this platform, you can view the estimated value of the flight's carbon emissions, and make flight recommendations accordingly
.

Google Maps [10] is a network map platform that provides satellite images, aerial photography, streets, 360° interactive street panoramas, real-time traffic conditions, and route planning for traffic travel
.
The real-time road traffic information it provides includes: bus delay time, road congestion prediction, available shared bicycles or motorcycles, traffic routes, etc.
, so that travelers can more easily choose the best way of travel
.
By the end of 2019, Google Maps had the location information of nearly 142,000 charging piles for electric vehicles
.

The second is to launch a mutual assistance travel software platform to save travel costs
.
Google’s Waze Carpool[11] is a carpool tool provided by Google’s traffic navigation application
.
Drivers on Waze do not use this as a career, but only to reduce gas costs to carry passengers who also commute to and from work
.
Passengers use Waze for the purpose of saving commuting costs
.

Unlike taxis, passengers sometimes need to walk to nearby drivers.
The end of the carpool may be some distance from the destination, and the cost is low.
Under special circumstances, it can also be free of charge, so as to achieve true carpooling to and from work
.
In 2019, Waze carpooling mileage reached 120 million kilometers, offsetting 26,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to planting more than 400,000 trees
.
At present, many countries and cities such as the United States, Brazil, Israel, Mexico, etc.
are using Waze
.

Figure: Part of the interface of the Waze Carpool application

The third is to record personal travel information to help users analyze environmental impacts
.
Google TripTracker [12] can automatically record the user's driving, running, and cycling conditions, and can also provide personal travel statistics, including the user's carbon footprint
.
Microsoft Concur[13] integrates the travel and expense process into Microsoft Outlook 365.
In addition, it can also estimate the carbon emissions of flights and help users compare the carbon costs and financial costs of different travel options
.

Figure: Part of the interface of the Trip Tracker application

Improve personal environmental awareness and promote users' energy-saving actions

Improve personal environmental awareness and promote users' energy-saving actions

Google Your Plan, Your Planet[14] is an interactive tool provided to individuals in cooperation with the California Academy of Sciences to help people understand their environmental impacts on food, energy and water, and learn simple circular economy concepts and adopt scientific methods Reduce the negative impact on the environment
.
The tool expands from four aspects of food, water, energy and objects, and guides users through a game-like experience, such as placing food in the correct position in the refrigerator, and dishwashers that use less energy and water than hand washing dishes
.

During the experience, users can personally feel the impact of their daily behavior on the environment, thereby enhancing environmental awareness and making promises
.
Google Assistant (Google Assistant) [15] as an intelligent personal assistant, can be configured in mobile phones, smart displays, speakers, cars, computers, wearable devices and other devices, users can use the way of dialogue, let Google Assistant help themselves in the device Complete the operation on the computer, and support remote control, such as remote control of the lights, thermostats, players, etc.
at home
.
In terms of environmental protection, Google Assistant can help users save energy by integrating energy, material, and water conservation actions into their daily lives
.

Picture: YourPlan, Your Planet part of the interface

Develop map tools to monitor changes in earth resources

Develop map tools to monitor changes in earth resources

Google Earth Engine [16] is a cloud computing platform for analyzing and visualizing geographic data, which can process satellite images and other geographic observation data
.
It provides access to the satellite image database
.
Google Earth Engine works with Google Cloud Platform, and researchers can access data from Landsat and Sentinel-2
.
By combining satellite imagery and geospatial database and data analysis capabilities, it can detect changes in the Earth's surface, analysis of forest cover and water, land use change or assess the health of farmland and so on
.

In 2013, Google Earth Engine added a time-lapse video (Timelaspe) [17] function, which can intuitively feel the changes of the earth (such as forests, cities, land, etc.
) from 1984 to 2020
.
Microsoft's CarbonPlan [18] uses planetary computer data to conduct a more transparent and scientifically rigorous evaluation of forest-based climate solutions
.
Data-driven past and future carbon offset projects enable procurement projects to obtain the highest quality results
.
In addition, data sets and models are generated by building open source data and tools to provide information for climate decision-making
.

Figure: Time-lapse video interface of GoogleEarth Engine

Science and technology help agriculture and promote sustainable agricultural development

Science and technology help agriculture and promote sustainable agricultural development

Microsoft's Cloud Agronomics [19] uses remote sensing and artificial intelligence technology to give growers an in-depth understanding of the carbon content of crops and soil in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote sustainable food production
.
It uses customized hyperspectral imaging equipment on the plane to scan crops and soil.
The amount of data collected by this method is 300 times that of satellites
.

The data is sent to Azure for reference, calibration, and analysis, turning the raw data into insights
.
Cloud Agronomics is building one of the largest agricultural marker data sets, enabling growers to actively and effectively manage crops
.
The real-time carbon monitoring function will provide the first standardized carbon index provided by the carbon credit market, providing financial incentives for the transition to low-carbon agriculture, removing excess carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil to help plants grow
.

Figure: Part of the interface of CloudAgronomics

Reduce carbon emissions from building facilities and help energy-efficient buildings

Reduce carbon emissions from building facilities and help energy-efficient buildings

Microsoft's Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) [20] is a free and open platform for revealing the embodied carbon in building materials.
It was launched in November 2019 and hosted on Azure
.
EC3 extracts data from environmental product declarations (EPDs) verified by a third party and compares the carbon content of available materials so that users can quickly make purchasing decisions and select materials with the least impact on the climate
.

More than 10,000 users now use EC3 tools
.
The platform also has a global carbon content database of nearly 5,000 major material categories for construction products
.
Google Cloud and DeepMind have developed an industrial adaptive control platform that automatically controls the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems of commercial buildings, data centers, and industrial facilities to achieve machine learning on a global scale, thereby achieving energy saving, and providing these solutions To industrial companies and building management software providers
.

Figure: Part of the interface of the building embodied carbon calculator

Comprehensive carbon neutral data analysis and decision-making tools to help urban low-carbon planning

Comprehensive carbon neutral data analysis and decision-making tools to help urban low-carbon planning

Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE) [21] is a free platform that aggregates Google database information and uses machine learning and other technologies to calculate urban greenhouse gas emissions, help cities set emission baselines and determine emission reduction plans
.
It aims to help city builders and decision makers explore and formulate better urban development plans and create low-carbon cities
.

EIE provides cities with technical tools and data to calculate greenhouse gases.
First, building emissions: estimate the greenhouse gas emissions of buildings within the city boundary based on Google Maps data; second, traffic emissions: aggregate historical data of vehicles in anonymous locations in the database.
Estimated greenhouse gas emissions for all trips that start or end within the boundary; third is rooftop solar potential: estimate the solar production potential of all buildings based on total sunshine, weather patterns, roof size and direction; fourth, air quality: through mobile Air sensors draw street-level air pollution maps to obtain super-localized, street-by-street air quality data; the fifth is forest coverage: map forest coverage to increase forest coverage and improve urban ecosystems
.

Figure: Part of the interface of Environmental Insight Explorer

Source: Tencent Research Institute

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