Facebook wants to run on 100 percent renewable energy by 2020


Facebook doesn't just want your data — it also wants to save the planet.
The tech giant announced Tuesday that it plans to run on 100 percent renewable energy by 2020, continuing its effort to fight climate change. Facebook also intends to reduce its global greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent.
In a blog post, the company said it is on its way to being "one of the largest corporate purchasers of renewable energy." So far, Facebook has signed contracts for more than three gigawatts of new solar and wind energy, and it has outpaced its goal of having all facilities running on 50 percent renewable energy by 2018, reaching 51 percent last year.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The trend of switching over to renewable energy has spread rapidly throughout Silicon Valley, with other tech companies such as Google, Apple, and Samsung committing to going green. Read more about Facebook's pledge to renewable energy at The Fiscal Times.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Amari Pollard is the social media editor at The Week and has written for Reader's Digest, Parents, and Inside Lacrosse. She studied journalism at Le Moyne College and can usually be found exploring Brooklyn, thrift shopping, or spending way too much money on brunch.
-
5 costly cartoons about the national debt
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on the USA's financial hole, rare bipartisan agreement, and Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
The Biden cover-up: a 'near-treasonous' conspiracy
Talking Point Using 'Trumpian' tactics, the former president's inner circle maintained a conspiracy of silence around his cognitive and physical decline
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect