Greenpeace Challenges Facebook to Go Green by Earth Day

Social Networking Site Has No Public Plan To Stop Using Coal Power

Greenpeace today issued a bold challenge to social networking giant Facebook, asking it to embrace a clean energy future and make it’s commitment public by the Earth Day (April 22nd). The global NGO has also asked Facebook to announce a plan towards ending the use of coal to provide electricity to the company’s rapidly expanding computer network. 

This latest move is part of Greenpeace’s “Facebook: Unfriend Coal” campaign, already backed by 600,000 supporters (1). The appeal follows last week’s Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo’s interview by Facebook Marketing Director Randi Zuckerberg (2) at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

In the interview, Mr Naidoo discussed Facebook’s potential to become a world leader in clean energy.  He also presented Ms. Zuckerberg  a pledge for her brother and Facebook  CEO Mark Zuckerberg so that he is able to sign on it by Earth Day.  (3)

The pledge calls upon Facebook to agree by April 22nd, to what Greenpeace calls The Big IDEA and expresses commitment to:

• Increase Facebook’s use of clean energy;
• Develop a plan to mitigate Facebook’s climate footprint and to become coal free by 2021;
• Educate Facebook users about how the company powers its services.
• Advocate for clean energy at a local, national and international level.

“Facebook has caught the imagination of people across the globe including millions of Indians through its smart business approach but sadly its innovative services are being powered by dirty energy, ” said Greenpeace India Climate Campaigner Abhishek Pratap.

“People all over the world are now asking the social networking site they love to lead the energy revolution by un-friending coal. Will Facebook rise to this challenge?” Abhishek asked.

The campaign to green Facebook is expanding into new languages and countries, including France, Indonesia, New Zealand, UK, and Turkey. Student groups are taking the message to US university campuses and educating their classmates about Facebook’s growing footprint. In the coming weeks, students will be telling Facebook staff that they want their online life to be green. (4)

“The way facebook has changed how we live our lives online, it also needs to change how energy is used and consumed to power businesses. There is a real opportunity for the company to lead by example in the changing climate,  by extending the spirit of innovation to clean energy growth and show to the world that businesses can prosper, powered by clean energy.” Abhishek added.

IT companies are rapidly increasing their consumption of electricity, and present one of the largest areas in the growth of electricity demand. The amount of electricity produced and consumed to power just the Internet, would place it 5th if ranked among countries by electricity consumption. (5)

In 2010 Facebook chose to increase demand for coal power when it decided to build its first two data centres, located in Oregon and North Carolina, from utilities that generate a majority of their electricity from coal. (6)  

More detailed information can be found at www.greenpeace.org/unfriendcoal

Notes to the editor:

1. www.greenpeace.org/unfriendcoal
2. www.huffingtonpost.com/kumi-naidoo/working-with-facebook-for_b_814854.html
3. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/climate/2011/Cool%20IT/Facebook/Facebook_Pledge_Back.pdf, http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/climate/2011/Cool%20IT/Facebook/Facebook_Pledge_Front.pdf
4. http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/getinvolved/get-involved/student-network/
5. www.greenpeace.org/international/en/publications/reports/make-it-green-cloud-computing/
6. . www.greenpeace.org/facebookmediabackgrounder