Taking Action on Climate Change at Climate Week NYC 2023
For those of you unfamiliar with Climate Week NYC, it is a critical yearly event that highlights the urgent need for action on climate change. It brings thousands of sustainability professionals to New York City in a bold endeavor to work toward solutions to this crisis.
This year's theme was fascinating: “We can. We will.” As our planet continues to suffer from severe weather and other planetary-scale climate disasters, it's more important than ever to come together and find solutions to inhibit continued temperature increase.
Addressing our planet’s urgent needs to create a net-zero future
The issue of climate change is now a topic closer to the top of the corporate agenda. Although it is commendable that climate change has become a part of many companies' corporate plans, we all need to do more than simply setting goals for the future.
At this critical juncture, we must take action now to address the urgent needs of our planet. As you read this, many sustainability professionals are seeking suitable options to fulfill their commitments, targets, and ambitions. To achieve the planet's goal of a net-zero future, businesses must go beyond their offices, data centers, and facilities to more broadly contribute to collective change.
Set goals, then take action
Like any other job, working in sustainability has its highs and lows. Talking about the importance of sustainability can be a repetitive and sometimes uninspiring task, especially when it comes to constantly emphasizing your business's commitment to net-zero targets and renewable energy.
Although educating peers is undoubtedly a vital component of a sustainable future, simply vocalizing the values is not enough. Instead, sustainability professionals should implement concrete actions that go beyond publishing goals and disclosing progress to stakeholders.
Working together to impede climate change
Enter Climate Week 2023, where the ambition was bold, the solution ideas were plentiful, and the carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies were bursting at the seams. The general consensus was "we can get there if we go together," which was the common denominator for action.
I wholeheartedly agree that if we work together, we can succeed in this fight to impede climate change.
Achieve net-zero emissions
With our position as the world's most distributed platform for cloud computing, security, and content delivery, Akamai has long been committed to sustainability and has made significant strides in reducing our carbon footprint by utilizing industry-leading emissions quantification and reduction methods. Akamai has set ambitious goals to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030 and has implemented a comprehensive and industry-leading sustainability strategy to achieve this goal.
Sustainability on a global scale
During Climate Week 2023, I had the opportunity to attend and contribute to several events that focused on broader sustainability initiatives and environmental impact. I gained valuable insights through numerous discussions, panels, roundtables, and receptions. In addition, I shared best practices with other business representatives on how companies can prioritize sustainability and take meaningful and concrete action.
Climate Week made it clear to me that sustainability has become a crucial factor for any company that is striving for success beyond the quarter, with its impact extending to the C-suite, the board, employees, and customers alike. As such, businesses must take tangible steps toward holistic sustainability on a global scale that adequately meets both stakeholder and public demands.
The Akamai Sustainability Team – from left to right: Margot Hines, Mike Mattera, and Katie Robinson – honored during the September 19 closing bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite over Climate Week NYC 2023 for pursuing impactful climate action (Source: Courtesy of Nasdaq, Inc.)
Prioritizing energy efficiency and reducing e-waste
Reflecting on 2023 Climate Week, I realized that Akamai is sincerely committed to sustainability. Our business practices clearly prioritize energy efficiency and a commitment to working with our data center partners for reliable renewable energy. In addition, Akamai is actively procuring new renewable energy sources, contributing to a more well-rounded decarbonized grid and signaling demand in the market.
We are also working diligently to reduce waste and promote the benefits of e-waste recycling throughout our operations with our commitment to diverting 100% of our e-waste from landfills. Every day, we strive to promote sustainability via our responsible supply chain program and we encourage our partners and customers to join us in these efforts.
Taking an active role in sustainability industry best practices
Here at Akamai, we recognize the importance of sustainability and how it impacts our organization and the world around us. To live our purpose to make life better for billions of people, billions of times a day, we have taken an active role in various initiatives and organizations, such as:
Clean Energy Buyers Association, in which energy customers and partners are committed to achieving a 90% carbon-free U.S. electricity system by 2030
RMI ZEROgrid Initiative to help address the toughest decarbonization and grid reliability challenges we face today
Emissions First Partnership, in which companies are working to reduce their emissions with impactful clean energy projects
These organizations are dedicated to promoting impactful clean energy practices by implementing industry-best techniques and creating pathways to curb the emissions impact of the broader electricity system.
Akamai’s continued collaboration with these strategic partners ensures that our efforts toward sustainability are comprehensive and will make an impact beyond just our individual work streams for our network, offices and data centers.
The time for action on climate change is now
The very productive 2023 Climate Week provided an excellent opportunity for me to reflect on our progress so far and what more we can do to challenge the status quo. The most important takeaway from this year’s conference is that the time for action on climate change is now.
Together, we can make a real impact and create a better future for all. Anyone can — and should — contribute to this cause. Through our long-term sustainability approach, Akamai sets an excellent example for companies of all sizes and welcomes everyone to join us in creating a healthier, more sustainable world for future generations.
Let’s curb climate change together
Learn more about Akamai’s environmental commitments on our sustainability web page. Together, we can get it done!
