Facebook Embraces Social Innovation and Thinks Green

Facebook is embracing social innovation and going green—yes, green! It has announced it will move away from coal and power its operations, including its data centres, with clean and renewable energy. The social network site has also announced plans to build a "green" data centre in Lulea in northern Sweden that would handle all data processing from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It would be powered primarily from renewable sources; the facility would cover 30,000 square metres, which is about the size of 11 football pitches.

This social innovation shift follows a two-year campaign led by Greenpeace, the environmental group, which claimed that Facebook's massive energy consumption was contributing significantly to climate change. Greenpeace's success comes after the organisation united 700,000 supporters behind its Unfriend Facebook campaign, which lobbied the social media platform to change its energy policies.

Marcy Scott Lynn, of Facebook's sustainability programme, says "We look forward to a day when our primary energy sources are clean and renewable, and we are working with Greenpeace and others to help bring that day closer. As an important step, our data centre citing policy now states a preference for access to clean and renewable energy. We are excited to work with them to explore new ways in which people can use Facebook to engage and connect on the range of energy issues that matter most to them - from their own energy efficiency to access to cleaner sources of energy."

In April 2011, Greenpeace published a report How Dirty is your Data? It calculated that 53.2% of Facebook's electricity was generated by coal, and that the energy consumption by each of Facebook's US data centres was estimated to consume the same electricity as 30,000 U.S. homes. Tzeporah Berman, Co-Director of Greenpeace's international climate and energy programme, says, "This move by Facebook sets an example for the industry to follow.  This change to clean, safe energy choices will help fight global warming and ensure a stronger economy and healthier communities". Facebook now wants to develop its platform to work more closely with Greenpeace to promote environmental awareness, social innovation and action. It has found Greenpeace very effective with bringing about change and the way it had engaged people.

Facebook's commitment to renewable energy and social innovation puts the pressure on other IT and cloud computing companies such as Apple, IBM, Microsoft and Twitter to follow suit and be more environmentally friendly, and green.