Top 10: Sustainable Technology Companies

Climate change is becoming more of a threat and big tech could hold the key to a more sustainable future.

Big tech currently accounts for 4% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, mainly as a result of the significant energy consumption of AI and data centres. The impact on both climate and society is large, on account of carbon-intensive supply chains and excessive water use.

In response, large technology corporations have shifted gear to invest more in renewable energy and decarbonisation projects to reduce overall emissions and their global carbon footprint.

With this in mind, Technology Magazine considers some of the leading big technology companies that are striving to improve their sustainability practices to create a better, more environmentally-conscious future.

10. Intel

Revenue: US$55.23bn (March 2023-March 2024)

Employees: 124,800+

CEO: Patrick P. Gelsinger

Founded: 1968

Intel prides itself on investing in reducing its manufacturing environmental footprint for more than 20 years. As part of this, the company has set ambitious goals such as achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions for Scopes 1 and 2 by 2040, in addition to achieving net-positive water and zero waste to landfills by 2030.

Currently, as per the company’s 2023-24 Corporate Responsibility Report, Intel has achieved 99% renewable electricity globally and saved more than 10 billion gallons of water.

9. Samsung Electronics

Revenue: US$201.06bn

Employees: 270,000+

CEO: Han Jong-hee

Founded: 1969

While Samsung Electronics faces significant sustainability challenges due to its large carbon footprint, the company reports that its sustainability efforts in 2022 produced a total sustainability value of US$88.9bn.
Likewise, Samsung achieved 100% renewable energy usage for its sites in the US, China and Europe in 2020 - now aiming for global net zero by 2050. The organisation is also expanding renewable energy use globally, which includes the installation of solar and geothermal facilities.

8. Dell Technologies

Revenue: US$101.6bn

Employees: 120,000 approx.

CEO: Michael Dell

Founded: 1984

Dell Technologies demonstrates a strong commitment to sustainability by focusing on creating environmentally-friendly devices, using sustainable materials such as recycled plastics. All its packaging is made from recycled or renewable materials, with the company also offering recovery services to recycle old equipment.

In terms of environmental pledges, Dell has committed to achieving net zero across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2050. The tech giant also aims to source 75% of electricity from renewable sources across all facilities by 2030.

7. Meta

Revenue: US$134.90bn (2023)

Employees: 67,317+

CEO: Mark Zuckerberg

Founded: 2004

Despite surging emissions on account of AI, Meta is committing itself to powering ahead with its sustainability pledges. Having hit net zero emissions in 2020, the social media giant now aims to ambitiously achieve net zero value chain emissions by 2030.

This will be a challenge, particularly as nearly all of Meta’s carbon footprint came from Scope 3 in 2022. To mitigate this, the company is prioritising efficiency and circularity throughout its business decisions and aims to harness low-carbon technology.

6. Apple

Revenue: US$381.62bn

Employees: 154,000+

CEO: Tim Cook

Founded: 1976

In 2020, Apple pledged to bring its entire carbon footprint to net zero by 2030. It aims to achieve this through innovations in materials, clean energy, low-carbon shipping and restoring natural ecosystems. To date, 250 of the tech giant’s suppliers have committed to using 100% renewable electricity for Apple product production.

In April 2024, it was announced that Apple had cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half (55% since 2015). The company is also seeking to remove plastic from packaging.

5. Microsoft

Revenue: US$211.91bn (2023)

Employees: 221,000+

CEO: Satya Nadella

Founded: 1975

Microsoft is working hard to ensure that it lowers its Scope 3 emissions, after experiencing a 30% increase in the wake of building new data centres. In 2023, the tech giant invested more than 23.6 million megawatt hours (MWH) of renewable energy and holds firm on its plan to be carbon negative by 2030.

On account of extended water use, Microsoft aims to become water positive - reducing water consumption across its global operations and replenishing more water than it uses.

4. Amazon

Revenue: US$590.74bn (2023)

Employees: 1,608,000+

CEO: Andy Jassy

Founded: 1994

Being one of the most influential organisations in the world comes with a high level of responsibility in sustainability. Amazon’s main sustainable goal is to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040.

Amazon showcases its progress in becoming a more sustainable company through its annual Sustainability Report. In its 2024 report, the company announced it had matched 100% of the electricity consumed across its global operations with renewable energy sources - achieving this goal seven years ahead of schedule.

3. IBM

Revenue: US$61.86bn

Employees: 282,200+

CEO: Arvind Krishna

Founded: 1911

IBM is currently working to ensure its operations are environmentally responsible and sustainable in the long term. This includes working to reduce CO2 emissions, prioritising conservation and renewable energy procurement. 

Currently, the tech giant aims to procure 75% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025 and 90% by 2030. It also has a target of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, in addition to improving average data centre cooling efficiency by 20% by 2025. 

2.Nvidia

Revenue: US$26.04bn (April 2023-April 2024)

Employees: 29,600+

CEO: Jensen Huang

Founded: 1993

Most renowned for its semiconductors, Nvidia is one of the most valuable companies in the world, as of 2024. Its chips have helped company stock nearly triple in value over the past year to US$2.68tn, resulting in it becoming the world’s first trillion-dollar semiconductor stock.

As a result of its rapid AI and data centre ventures, the company has had to find ways to advance sustainability too. By the end of 2025 and beyond, we expect to achieve and maintain 100% renewable electricity for offices and data centres under our operational control. 

The company also states that its new Nvidia Blackwell GPUs are generally 20x more energy efficient than traditional CPUs, particularly for certain AI and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads.

1. Siemens

Revenue: €86.85bn (US$94.5bn)

Employees: 320,000+

CEO: Roland Busch

Founded: 1847

Siemens continues to make significant progress in sustainability across multiple areas of its business. Boasting a long legacy, the company has plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and has already cut its CO2 emissions in half, compared to 2019.

Likewise, Siemens is targeting a 55% physical reduction in CO2 emissions from its own business by the end of 2025, in addition to around 90% of its total by 2030.

In July 2024, the company announced that it was using its Siemens Xcelerator end-to-end digital twin and AI to design a sustainable city in Berlin. By 2035, Siemens will invest US$800m and develop Siemensstadt Square into a hub for partnerships with a total project volume of up to US$4.8bn.

The organisation utilises its DEGREE sustainability framework to continue defining clear goals and actions for its sustainability ambitions.

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