Google, IBM, Other Tech Giants Underreport Carbon Footprint, Says Study

Research published in the journal Nature Communications found inconsistencies in the way companies declare their carbon footprint.

By Associated Press | Updated: 23 October 2021 18:19 IST

Google, IBM, Other Tech Giants Underreport Carbon Footprint, Says Study

Photo Credit: Reuters

Google's parent Alphabet is found to have ignored carbon emissions that should have been counted

Highlights

The study was conducted at the Technical University of Munich
It examined so-called scope 3 emissions
Authors suggested ways in which companies can improve emissions reporting

Large technology companies such as SAP, IBM, and Google are underreporting their greenhouse gas emissions at a time of heightened scrutiny over the role of corporations in driving climate change, a study released Friday claimed.

Research published in the journal Nature Communications found inconsistencies in the way companies declare their carbon footprint, a measure that is increasingly considered important for investors.

The study, conducted by researchers at the Technical University of Munich, examined so-called scope 3 emissions that account for a large share of corporate carbon footprints, such as business travel, employee commuting and how companies' products are used.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

Focusing on 56 companies in the tech industry, they found that on average these failed to disclose about half of their emissions.

Christian Stoll, one of the report's authors, said some companies — such as Google's parent Alphabet — were found to have been consistent in how they reported their carbon footprint, but excluded some emissions that should have been counted.

Others, such as IBM, had reported their carbon footprint differently depending on the audience and excluded emissions that should have been included.

Google Maps Gets Eco-Friendly Routing, Lite Navigation Features

Neither Google nor IBM immediately responded to requests for comment.

The authors suggested ways in which companies can improve their emissions reporting.

Laura Draucker, senior manager of corporate greenhouse gas emissions at nonprofit business research firm Ceres, said she agreed with the Nature paper's conclusion that companies' emissions disclosure needs to improve.

Elon Musk Says Cryptocurrencies Can’t be Destroyed, Growth Can Be Curbed

“However, we cannot wait for perfect data,” said Draucker, who wasn't involved in the study. “Companies can use estimates and screening tools to identify hot spots for climate risk along their value chain, and they can set goals and take actions now to meet those goals — while at the same time, working to improve data collection and quality.”

Ceres' own research showed many of the largest US companies lack ambitious climate goals, she added.

What's most interesting about Apple's new MacBook Pros, M1 Pro and M1 Max silicon, AirPods (3rd Generation), and Apple Music Voice plan? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.