Facebook friends transparency, posts its carbon footprint
Graphic provided by Facebook
Facebook released data on its emissions and other impacts Wednesday.
What's on Facebook's mind today? Its carbon footprint.
The Menlo Park-based social media giant (NASDAQ: FB), which has been criticized for lack of transparency, released data on its greenhouse gas emissions and energy use from 2011, which includes that associated with its data centers, offices, employee commuting and air travel, data center construction and server transport.
Facebook said with all these things added together, the company released 285,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2011. That’s about the same amount produced by 55,882 passenger vehicles in a year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency calculator.
Facebook's energy use for the year from data centers, office space and other facilities was 532 million kilowatt hours.
Facebook said its energy mix is 23 percent renewable, 27 percent coal, 17 percent natural gas, 13 percent nuclear and 20 percent uncategorized — basically whatever is available for utilities to buy on the spot market over which customers have little control.
"The reality is that as a fast-growing company our carbon footprint and energy mix may get worse before they get better," Facebook said in its post.
Facebook's Prineville data center has been lauded for its green approach.
Comments
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.