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When Facebook focuses on anything, it's bound to have a big impact, especially when it promotes that new focus to its half-billion-plus users. And today, the social network launched a new focus on all things green, both within the company and in the broader world.
The public-facing site, Facebook.com/green, offers news and links to green stories around the web (GreenBiz.com has several posts prominently displayed on the page as of this writing), as well as details on the company's own internal green efforts.
And Facebook today also announced its second membership in the past two weeks in industry energy-efficiency associations. Today Facebook joined the Information Technology Industry Council's Digital Energy Solutions Campaign (DESC), a coalition of tech companies and NGOs focused on developing and sharing best practices on energy efficiency.
Last week, Facebook announced that it had joined the Alliance to Save Energy, which partnership will involve using Facebook's reach to help spread the word to businesses and individuals alike about energy efficiency. That partnership also included the launch of a new website sponsored by Dell, LivingEfficiently.org, with much the same focus.
Overall, the three announcements amount to a renewed push by Facebook to both expand its work on green IT and energy efficiency, as well as to strengthen its green reputation. Among the green programs featured on the Facebook Green page is the previously unreported development code Facebook engineers developed. Dubbed "HipHop for PHP," the code has apparently been put to use to reduce Facebook's CPU usage by 50 percent while performing the same amount of work.
Also included are non-IT projects, like Facebook's in-house recycling and composting programs, its water conservation efforts, and its Google-esque subsidized transportation program.
I don't doubt that Facebook is serious about its green initiatives -- it is of course good business, and its membership certainly seems to approve, with over 9,000 fans already on Day One -- but whether the company's green communications will do anything to appease Greenpeace on its ongoing campaign against the social network (or the "So Coal Network," in Greenpeace's parlance), obviously remains to be seen.
I'm working on a behind-the-scenes look at the Facebook Green campaign, and will have more soon. In the meantime, let us know in the comments below what you think about the campaign. And of course, consider liking GreenBiz.com on Facebook...
Personally, I could care less
Personally, I could care less whether Greenpeace is appeased or not. Coal will be the fuel for the foreseeable future. Cap and trade is socialist at it's core and has nothing to do with green or environmental protection. Environmentalism is a religion for those who don't have a real one. Nuclear is the cleanest fuel available. Does Greenpeace support more Nukes? If not, they are not Green-green, but RED green.
I think it is great that
I think it is great that Facebook is joining additional industry consortiums and helping spread the word about efficiency as a means to save costs and operate with greater environmental stewardship. There is so much new information arising from clean tech innovation, improved environmental practices, and new policy frameworks, that creating easily accessible, information-sharing portals on popular web 2.0 media (i.e. facebook) is beneficial. With more platforms to exchange ideas, consumers who want to make responsible choices can be better informed. If there are measures to ensure quality in the content, this may be especially beneficial for younger demographics, as they may seek web2.0 platforms as their sole source for news and events.
To the issues raised, I agree that implementing a new “green” data center in an area that is powered primarily by coal generation can be seen as hypocritical, but I am unaware of other issues the firm may have considered in this move that may have mitigated this negative effect from local coal electricity.
Still, it is important that technology companies are recognizing the need for creating more efficient systems, developing less energy intensive code and communicating these achievements to the public. We should recognize that many firms are not even this far along a path of sustainability. Criticism can be more constructive by encouraging them to do more and not chastising them publicly. Facebook can still validate green claims by offsetting the power for their new data center through RECs or carbon offsets. Though less well understood, the firm should use offsets to avoid any concerns over additionality.
Greenpeace is not appeased
Greenpeace is not appeased yet. We would like to take Facebook's enhanced public discourse about green initiatives to mean that the company is bringing its environmental footprint into sharper focus. But dedicating a Facebook page to green dialogue, partnering with a green group, and emphasizing energy efficiency measures is not enough. Facebook needs to demonstrate that it is doing all that it can to power its rapid growth with clean energy instead of coal. And that means applying the company's considerable influence to support policy initiatives that secure a reliable and plentiful supply of renewable energy sources for Facebook's growing demand. Read more on our Cool IT blog: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/Cool-IT/facebooks-...
Facebook and Sustainability,
Facebook and Sustainability,
If FB is serious about sustainability it needs to focus on the email notification system it has in place when its users interact on its site. An email accounts for .03 g CO2 emissions due the energy required to run its operations. So not only are these emails coming from FB, but also ending up in a users email account as well, often stored in triplicate around the globe.
In my opinion, it is not the best strategy to encourage users to stop using these email notifications because I would assume it increases traffic on its site.
I have stopped using these email notifications, my inbox is not cluttered with emails I don't need and when I go to the Facebook, I am more pleasantly surprised.
Facebook create an easy sustainable option to help your users reduce the carbon emissions associated with your notifications.
BTW - i love facebook.
cheers,
denny
This is definitely a positive
This is definitely a positive direction that Facebook is heading towards. Spreading the word of this environmental focus to its users and other businesses is a great way to begin a process that will hopefully bring attention to many others around the world.