As we grow Akamai Connected Cloud and incorporate our core and distributed sites into our sustainability program, we are taking an ambitious approach for a year-over-year reduction in our emissions, aligned with science, to support our goals and program mission.
Sustainability
Harnessing the power of Akamai Connected Cloud to create a sustainable and equitable future for the world.
We have a big challenge ahead
The IPCC warned that it is “now or never” to stave off a climate disaster by limiting global warming to below 1.5°C. As a leader of the modern internet, Akamai plays an enormous role in the climate transition. We are working across the industry to pioneer ways to move beyond the megawatt hour and focus on the emissions impact of our electricity consumption and generation. In our latest report, we detail our approach, actions, and progress toward our 2030 goals.
Our 2030 goals
With our leadership role in the internet ecosystem, Akamai takes responsibility to reduce our environmental impacts. To fulfill that commitment, we are focused on achieving five goals by 2030.
- Zero Emissions
- Renewable Energy
- Build Efficiency
- Supplier Engagement
- E-waste Management
Zero Emissions
GOAL #1
Zeroing Out Our Emissions
Akamai has committed to sustainably powering both the delivery and security components of Akamai Connected Cloud and being accountable for our emissions as we lay the foundations for our current and future operations. That’s why Akamai has joined the Science Based Targets Business Ambition for 1.5°C initiative and has targeted net-zero aligned emissions across our Scope 1 and 2. We recognize that this impact is a significant hurdle to becoming net zero by 2030.
Renewable Energy
GOAL #2
100% Renewable Energy
We are working toward achieving our goal of powering Akamai’s content delivery and security businesses with 100% renewable electricity.
We do this by investing in renewable projects that bring additionality to the global grid by generating impactful clean energy capacity that directly displaces carbon-intensive sources. In addition, we prioritize working with data center providers that pass through renewable energy to power our operations. With a significant portion of Akamai Connected Cloud residing in colocation facilities globally, our combined efforts have helped drive renewable energy demand globally.
We believe it is critical to collaborate with organizations like the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA) to offer training and resources for our partners and support their efforts in procuring renewable power.
In the areas where our global reach is far and renewable solutions are limited, we intend to procure renewable power as close to our operations as possible through utility, supplier, or other market-based options that provide traceability and create demand in the market.
Build Efficiency
GOAL #3
50% More Efficient Platform
We are growing Akamai Connected Cloud responsibly. As our platform expands, our engineering teams seek ways to develop efficiencies. However, we aim to avoid unneeded power utilization and emissions output even with platform growth. We look to accomplish this by reducing power demands, creating software advancements, and building efficient hardware.
This work continues to showcase our commitment to building a more sustainable platform for the future that will support our mission by reducing the overall impact it takes to power Akamai Connected Cloud.
We recognize that our growth is very dynamic and that we must continually build more granular measurement capabilities to understand our impact and ensure we capture the refinement happening across Akamai Connected Cloud.
Supplier Engagement
GOAL #4
Responsible Supply Chain Management
At Akamai, we believe in delivering business results the right way, and a robust Responsible Supply Chain Program (RSCP) is part of this approach. We collaborate with diverse, responsible, environmentally and socially conscious suppliers that align with our company values and meet regulatory requirements. We are working with our suppliers to reduce emissions output by 2030.
To support ongoing engagement with our colocation and broader supply chain partners, we partner with EcoVadis to assist with understanding where our suppliers are in their sustainability journey. As a result, this partnership will provide visibility into areas of continuous improvement across our supply chain.
All our suppliers who haven’t joined our RSCP yet, but would like to, can register (after paying a platform usage fee) on the EcoVadis platform.
E-waste Management
GOAL #5
Expanding Our Global e-Waste Program
The proper disposal of electronic waste is a critical global issue, and e-waste recycling is a significant focus of our global sustainability strategy. Akamai works with certified recyclers globally that adhere to strict requirements of the e-Stewards Standard to recycle 100% of our e-waste. Recyclers adhering to the standard are certified through annual audits.
Akamai works with our recycling partners to provide critical lifecycle management services (LMS) for our global operations. The LMS process offers opportunities to re-use and re-deploy hardware assets that are still useful, and properly decommission and recycle those that are at the end of their useful life.
Implementing LMS across Akamai Connected Cloud continues to help us extend the useful life of our hardware assets and has contributed to increased efficiencies across our operational footprint. Through our approach, Akamai has boosted an asset's life, on average, by 2 to 3 years.
See our annual e-waste recycling metrics.
Learn more about our circular supply chain work.
Resources
Understand Your Emissions Impact Using Akamai
We recognize that our customers share our vision of reducing emissions, including those generated by their IT suppliers. That’s why we created the customer Carbon Calculator, an emissions measurement approach based on the individual customer’s use of Akamai Connected Cloud. Integrated into the Akamai Control Center, the Carbon Calculator reports the emissions associated with a specific subset of customer traffic, allowing customers to understand Akamai’s emissions reduction efforts. Check out our innovative approach to understanding your impact when using Akamai Connected Cloud.
Customers can see at a glance the total bytes delivered and the calculated emissions from this traffic. The report also provides a view of emissions by country, color-coded by the volume of bytes and emissions.
Partnerships contributing toward our goals
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Akamai supports the Paris Agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions substantially. Limiting the global temperature increase in this century to 1.5°C is essential. To further our decarbonization commitments, we have aligned our program with the Science Based Targets initiative to set our emission reduction in line with the Paris Agreement and continually evolving climate science. We developed our 2030 environmental goals to inspire innovation and build a more environmentally friendly internet. We are committed to reducing greenhouse gas output across Akamai Connected Cloud globally to continue to act on our corporate mission to make life better for billions of people, billions of times a day.
Akamai voluntarily discloses to the TCFD, SASB, CDP, MSCI, GRI, EcoVadis, FTSE4Good, JUST Capital, Sustainalytics, S&P Global CSA, ISS, and Glass Lewis. See Akamai indexes on our ESG page for details on our transparency and process.
Akamai is working on incorporating a meaningful strategy for our cloud computing services to support our sustainability goals. With the addition of cloud computing and its integration into our daily operations, our teams have been actively developing an approach that will support our renewable energy and zero emissions aspirations and closely align with the Science Based Target initiative ITC subsector guidance. Using the SBTi ITC guidance as a beacon will enable us to meet our goals and be deliberate in targeting an approach that will help hit our short- and long-term goals.
Learn how we are implementing nature-positive practices across our value chain in our biodiversity statement.
Learn more about our program on our ESG page; details regarding our corporate governance can be found on our Corporate Governance page.
Contact Akamai Sustainability
Working in partnership, we can create a more sustainable future. To contact our team, please indicate your sustainability-focused interest or request in the comment box.
We can help you to:
- Get engaged with our sales team to learn more about Akamai’s sustainability program
- Set up a meeting with the sustainability and/or ESG team
- Learn more about the Akamai Carbon Calculator
- Find out more about our best practices, procedures, and long-term goals
- Get connected and engaged with our industry partners
Thanks for your request! An Akamai expert will reach out soon.