Akamai’s Environmental Management System Meets the ISO 14001 Standard
I am pleased to announce that Akamai has achieved a significant milestone in our sustainability journey. We have received official confirmation that Akamai's environmental management system (EMS) conforms with the ISO 14001 standard, demonstrating our commitment to adhering to international best practices for sustainability. This achievement reflects our dedication to upholding stringent environmental standards and our ongoing efforts to minimize our environmental impact.
In reaching this significant achievement, Akamai is now fully equipped to evaluate our environmental footprint conscientiously, identify potential risks and opportunities, and meet the demands and expectations of our valued customers and stakeholders for years to come.
Building our environmental management system
We empower our customers to create, deliver, and secure digital experiences trillions of times daily. Akamai's resilience and efficiency extend far beyond our products and physical infrastructure.
Over the past several years, teams across Akamai have dedicated time and resources to developing our EMS, carefully considering our global operations to create a compelling and uniquely tailored system for our business. The ISO 14001 standard is intended for application in any organization, but implementing it in a company like Akamai, with more than 4,200 points of presence and 1,200 networks globally, posed challenges for attaining the standard.
Carefully applying the standard
While developing Akamai’s EMS, my colleagues and I diligently integrated the ISO 14001 standard to ensure thorough coverage of our operations. Our focus extended beyond mere conformity to the standard as we also sought out processes that would facilitate efficient and sustainable improvement throughout Akamai's value chain.
The outcome? A system that prioritizes building efficiency and sustainability, drives continuous improvement, engages stakeholders, and ensures transparency.
A system built for the entire business
The scope of our EMS covers environmental management of Akamai’s operational efficiency lifecycle, including strategy and architecture, implementation, operational improvement, and end of service. This scope runs across data center and office facilities, physical hardware, software, network, capacity, and the value chain that all contribute to greenhouse gas emissions output across Scopes 1, 2, and 3; this includes areas beyond our direct operational control and encompasses all of Akamai’s global activities across our value chain.
The figure illustrates our ongoing work to scale platform efficiency while we reduce our environmental impacts and risk exposure. The opportunity to engage more deeply with sustainability in various areas of the business presents itself in every stage of our operational lifecycle.
The four stages of our operational efficiency lifecycle
What’s next?
Attaining compliance with ISO 14001 represents a remarkable achievement, showcasing our dedication to leveraging the capabilities of Akamai Connected Cloud to shape a sustainable and inclusive future for our planet. Yet, this milestone marks just one stop on our ongoing transformative expedition into what the EMS can bring to Akamai.
In the coming months, Akamai will be focused on continuing to integrate the EMS into every corner of the business. There are two work streams that I am particularly eager to work on:
The first is collaboration with a cross-functional operation-focused Environmental Management Review Team to discuss progress, risks, and opportunities across Akamai Connected Cloud.
The second is the development of our EMS performance evaluation process, through which we will thoughtfully gather more Akamai stakeholder perspectives on how we can continue to improve our program.
I am greatly looking forward to providing comprehensive updates to all our stakeholders on the ongoing evolution and progress of our EMS. Stay tuned!