Alibaba makes efforts to reduce its carbon footprint

Alibaba Group said it has saved 619,944 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions over 12 months by tapping into cleaner energy sources as it strives to achieve its carbon neutrality goal.

This savings is equivalent to the carbon dioxide generated by 12,915 American homes in one year, according to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) report of the company.

In addition to increasing its use of renewable energy, Alibaba said it is harnessing energy-efficient technologies, rolling out greener logistics and incentivizing consumers to buy green products.

“We believe more than ever in our responsibility and our ability to drive positive change,” Alibaba Group Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang said in the report.

The report is Alibaba’s first progress update since it pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and reduce carbon emissions by 1.5 gigatonnes across its digital ecosystem by 2035.

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Alibaba’s digital platform is home to 1.3 billion consumers and tens of millions of merchants.

“How to work with them to build a new green and sustainable business ecosystem and create value beyond business results is a new expedition for all of us,” Zhang said in the report.

turning green

Alibaba has expanded its use of renewable energy and harnessed energy-efficient technology to green its ecosystem.

In the first half of this year alone, Alibaba purchased more than 800 million kWh of clean energy, an increase of 150% over its purchases in all of last year.

The company topped the ranking of renewable energy purchases among Chinese companies last year, according to research provider Bloomberg NEF.

Alibaba Cloud has committed to running its data centers entirely on clean energy by 2030. In the 12 months ending March 31, 21.6% of the energy it used was clean energy, according to the report.

The cloud provider’s data centers reduced 534,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from its carbon footprint by purchasing clean energy and natural gas.

Alibaba Cloud data centers lead the cloud service providers in Asia, with an average power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1,247 in its fiscal year 2022, according to the report.

Alibaba’s customers are also going green: Around 1,700 companies used Alibaba Cloud’s carbon management platform, Energy Expert, for their energy and sustainability management.