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Oracle commits to renewable power by 2025

The world is at a tipping point, and it's time for everyone to step up

Oracle is the latest tech giant to move towards sustainable operations, announcing that both its facilities and cloud infrastructure will use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025.

The company's European cloud regions already use fully renewable power, as do 51 of the company's almost 300 global offices. It will now roll out similar programmes to its Americas and APAC locations.

Oracle also said it recognises the problem of e-waste. Humanity generates more than 53 million tonnes every year, and this could double by 2050. The company collected more than 1,130 tons of old hardware in 2020, and recycled or reused 99.6 per cent of it.

Additionally, Oracle has lowered the amount of waste it sends to landfill sites, from Oracle-owned buildings, by 25 per cent (on a square foot basis) since 2015.

Those are great moves, but the world needs more action on a massive scale to even begin to address the issue of electronic waste.

Steve Oliver, founder and CEO of musicMagpie, told Computing's sister title CRN, "It's scary just how little recycling activity happens. There's £16 billion worth of old consumer tech items in UK households alone - an average of 11 items that we have laying around...

There are some really precious metals in a mobile phone - gold, silver and platinum - but equally there's some really nasty stuff - lead, mercury and even arsenic. 70 per cent of the toxicity of landfill comes from the e-waste."

Another pressing issue is the impact of the tech supply chain, which is hard to assess accurately and often relies on self-reporting. Oracle says it also has plans in place here, expecting (though not yet requiring) all of its 'key suppliers' to have an environmental programme in place by 2025.

"Telenor Group recently set science-based targets to reduce our own emissions by 57 per cent by 2030, and work with our suppliers in order to also reduce our supply chain emissions. It is critical for us that our suppliers share our commitment, so we are pleased to see Oracle set a goal to have its operations be powered 100 per cent with renewable energy by 2025," said Cecilie Heuch, EVP and Chief People and Sustainability Officer at Telenor Group.

The UK government has also supported Oracle's move, with Business & Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng commenting, "Renewable energy is critical to tackling climate change and helping us move to a cleaner, greener future. Oracle's ambitious pledge today will ensure it is going further and faster to reach a sustainable future, and inspiring other businesses around the world to be more environmentally-friendly."

Oracle commits to renewable power by 2025

The world is at a tipping point, and it's time for everyone to step up

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