San Francisco-based Salesforce – which claims to be “the number-one CRM provider globally” – announced on April 13 that the company has achieved net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and is now providing a carbon neutral cloud for all customers.
Founded in 1999, Salesforce became competitive by replacing traditional desktop CRM software with CRM in the cloud, making it accessible anytime from anywhere. Today, the company says that its multi-tenant architecture is 50 times more energy- and carbon-efficient than traditional on-premise software, enabling it and its customers to avoid significant emissions over time – 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2016.
In addition, the company said, it has achieved net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by building on longstanding efforts to drive efficiency in the company’s operations, executing two 12-year renewable energy agreements announced last year, and supporting sustainable development projects through the purchase of high-quality carbon credits.
Salesforce has received congratulations from a number of environmental advocacy groups for its early achievement of net zero greenhouse gas emissions – among them, the B Team, a global nonprofit initiative co-founded by Sir Richard Branson and Jochen Zeitz that brings together international CEOs and business leaders to "make business work better."
In 2015, ten B Team companies made the commitment to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – the timeline the world needs to be on to have the best chance of keeping global warming under 1.5 degrees.
“Today” B Team said, “one of these companies – Salesforce – reached this milestone well ahead of schedule. It’s a powerful demonstration that not only is net zero possible, but it’s possible on an accelerated timeframe necessary to rapidly bend the curve on global emissions, and limit the worst impacts of climate change.”
