In 2016, we announced our aim to achieve Zero Waste to Landfill for our global data center operations. We define “zero waste to landfill” as minimizing waste generation and maximizing the reuse of products and materials as much as possible while diverting 90% or more of solid waste from landfills.

As of the end of 2022, 10 out of 26 (38%) Google-owned and -operated data centers have met this zero waste to landfill target.¹ For example, our data center in Fredericia, Denmark, achieved zero waste to landfill from day one. Our data center waste footprint increases as we increase the number of our data centers, so we continue working towards our target as we grow.

Beyond these goals for landfill waste, our approach to circularity for data center equipment is to maintain servers for as long as possible, refurbish components for future reuse, reuse or resell components following a rigorous security process, and recycle any components that can’t be reused.

Since 2015, we have resold more than 37 million hardware components from our data centers into the secondary market for reuse by other organizations, including nearly 5 million resold components in 2022 alone.

Since all products will eventually become obsolete, availability of and participation in e-waste recycling programs is important to help keep electronics out of landfills at their end of life. E-waste contains critical minerals such as cobalt, nickel, and copper that are vital to the production of new electronics and clean energy technologies, such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and batteries. Recycling generates significant environmental benefits by reducing the need to mine and process new materials.

We are focused on sourcing recycled and sustainable materials from our supply chain, and we recognize that the supply chain is only able to provide recycled materials when robust recycling collection, processing infrastructure, and technologies are available. For devices at the end of their service life, we offer free recycling in every country where we ship consumer hardware products.¹

While e-waste recycling programs are generally available, they often have low consumer participation rates. That’s why, in 2022, we joined forces with industry peers and electronics recycling startup Retrievr on a new e-waste recycling pilot designed to address the behavioral reasons that stop consumers from recycling. Unlike recycling household items like food packaging or shipping boxes, electronics have unique barriers to overcome before consumers feel comfortable taking action. The goal is to study how the industry can reduce barriers and increase participation in e-waste recycling.

Material that is lost during the product manufacturing process (often called “yield losses”) generates waste material in our supply chain, so it’s important to ensure that these waste streams are also captured and recycled. In 2020, we announced our target to achieve UL 2799 Zero Waste to Landfill certification at all final assembly manufacturing sites for our consumer hardware products by 2022. “Zero Waste to Landfill” means that more than 90% of waste is diverted from landfill.

In 2022, we certified 90% of our established consumer hardware final assembly sites to the UL 2799 Zero Waste to Landfill standard. These sites achieved at least Silver certification level (representing a minimum 90% landfill diversion), with half of our sites achieving Platinum level (representing 100% landfill diversion). We plan to certify the remaining sites in the future. We also aim to maintain certification for 100% of our final assembly sites, including new sites as they’re added.

We’ve completed a new waste reduction pilot program focused on the packaging materials used to ship product parts from suppliers to final assembly sites. After finding an excess of packaging waste at our assembly sites, we saw an opportunity to guide our suppliers to replace some shipping materials with reusable and recyclable alternatives and to redesign packaging to use less material overall. We found solutions that increased shipping package density while reducing plastic waste.

For example, we partnered with our supplier that manufactures the power cable for Nest Cam to redesign their part packaging (e.g., the packaging the supplier uses to bulk ship Nest Cam power cables to our final assembly manufacturer), resulting in a reduction of 4.7 tons of plastic and 4.9 tons of corrugated cardboard used for packaging in 2022.

We’re protecting our people—and planet—through safer chemistry and responsible management across our hardware products and processes aimed at protecting users and manufacturers alike.

For many years we’ve been refining our approach and developing programs to drive processes with safer human and environmental outcomes, because the chemical safety of materials plays a role in the impacts they can have on supply chain workers, users, and natural ecosystems. Through our Product Restricted Substances Specification and Manufacturer Restricted Substances List (MRSL), we restrict many hazardous substances and ensure our suppliers have processes in place to detect and prevent them from entering the manufacturing process. We’ve laid a solid foundation as we pursue our next level goals in safe chemistry.

In 2022, we shared more details about our comprehensive Responsible Chemical Management program that includes assessments, guidance, and training resources to help suppliers better mitigate occupational and environmental risks related to the chemicals they use. Recent initiatives have included in-depth assessment programs with greater levels of detail and transparency, extensive supplier training and guidance materials to more proactively manage risk, and new industry partnerships that allow us to share best practices intended to advance the industry at large.

We continue to enroll suppliers into e-learning courses, which more than 250 manufacturing suppliers have completed as of the end of 2022—a number that continues growing as we extend trainings to more supplier personnel.

Building design and construction is one of the largest sources of global waste, still adhering closely to a traditional take-make-waste model. Buildings are typically constructed using carbon-intensive materials such as concrete and steel, and they are typically demolished for total site clearance. Together, roughly 30%¹ of all global annual waste comes from building construction and demolition.

When we design and build Google workplaces and stores around the world, we strive to be thoughtful about what materials we bring into our offices and use (and reuse) them more efficiently.

When the right opportunity comes up, we pursue adaptive reuse projects, renovating existing buildings to serve a new purpose rather than demolishing them for new builds. Some examples include our Playa Vista, California, office—a repurposed 1943 airplane hangar, and our Pier 57 office in New York City—a historic cruise terminal and transit depot that sat vacant for 20 years before Google reimagined it into an office and community space. We also consider adaptive reuse for our data centers, such as for our data center in Hamina, Finland, which was formerly an abandoned paper mill.

To make our workplaces more circular, we design adaptable spaces that can be adjusted over time using fewer renovation materials, we incorporate reuse and material salvage practices, and we provide a rigorous model for healthy materials that can be adopted by others.

Once a building is open, we strive to minimize the amount of materials being sent to landfill from our workplaces through strategies like reserving adequate space for waste storage and containers; incorporating reusables; providing consistent signage and locations for containers; creating the ability to separate materials; and ensuring that loading docks can handle onsite processing.

To achieve a low-carbon circular economy, we need to collectively cut back on food waste. At Google, that means doubling down on our efforts to reduce waste in our kitchens and cafes. In 2022, we announced our food waste goal: by 2025, we aim to send zero food waste to the landfill. Towards this goal, we aim to cut food waste in half for each Googler, compared to a 2019 baseline.

To further reduce food waste, we are strengthening our efforts in three key areas across our food program:

1. At the sourcing and procurement stage, we’re working with our suppliers, distributors and vendors to prevent waste before it happens.
2. In our kitchen and cafe operations, we’re preventing waste from the moment we receive ingredients all the way through to serving a finished dish.
3. And when there’s excess food—whether as prepared dishes or plate waste—we’re ensuring it’s donated or properly composted.

We are making measurable reductions across back-of-house operations through improved culinary practices and demand planning to ensure our production levels are consistent with user dining patterns.

Further progress will rely heavily on continued engagement of our vendor partner operations teams, further enabling Googlers to join in and expanding partnerships with municipal and community organizations to accelerate the pace of food donations and develop compost infrastructure.

The world’s plastic pollution problem is a large and complex challenge—more than 91% of plastic isn’t recycled and the majority is left sitting in landfills or littering our oceans and communities.¹

Reducing plastic waste requires entire industries to come together and take more meaningful action. At Google, that means rethinking our approach to the way we source products, serve food, and reduce our waste. On our journey toward reducing single-use plastics across our on-site food program, we’re switching from single-use disposable products to more reusable solutions—whether it’s snack wrappers or distribution and delivery packaging.

Improving our plastics footprint isn’t as simple as just not buying single-use plastics. To reduce single-use plastics (upstream) and bridge the infrastructure gaps for recycling and composting (downstream), we need to activate the entire food ecosystem, from manufacturers to distributors to waste management companies. We do this by working with vendors and suppliers to avoid or phase out products with single-use plastics; rethinking how we handle, store, prepare, and serve food and beverages; and using recoverable materials that are recyclable or compostable.

We’re piloting and scaling plastic-free processes and products in our kitchens and food spaces. For example, we’re installing beverage dispensers to replace single-use beverages, and we’re offering yogurt bars in our cafes to replace single-use yogurt cups. We’re redefining what we serve—and how we serve it—to eliminate single-use plastics and ensure durable, washable mugs, cups, dishware, and cutlery are easy to choose and return for continued use. Looking to the future, we’re also planning to create food spaces that design out waste from the start. Reducing—and ultimately eliminating—single-use plastics will help stem the tide of plastic polluting our planet.

Our ambition is to create consumer hardware products¹ that leave people, the planet, and our communities better than we found them.

Since launching our first hardware products, we’ve integrated sustainability considerations into materials sourcing and science, engineering and supply chain operations, carbon emissions reductions, waste reduction, packaging products, and designing our retail stores. We aim to increase the circularity of our hardware products and operations by decreasing our use of mined materials and signaling our demand for a more circular economy in our procurement of recycled materials. This is in addition to extending the life of our products through software updates and expanded repair options.

Reducing how much waste we generate as a company and minimizing the demand for new raw materials starts with how we source materials that go into our products.

In 2019, we announced our aim to include recycled materials in 100% of Google consumer hardware products launching in 2022 and every year after.² We hit our goal early—in 2020—and have maintained it each year since for Nest, Pixel, and Chromecast devices.³

In 2020, we updated our target, committing to use recycled or renewable material in at least 50% of plastic used across our consumer hardware product portfolio by 2025, prioritizing recycled plastic everywhere we can.

Approximately 30% of the material Google used in its new products launched and manufactured in 2022 was recycled content.⁴ This includes recycled material used in our devices’ aluminum, stainless steel, rare earth magnet, glass, and plastic parts.

Product packaging typically contains many materials—like the plastic film materials you often see on electronic packages—which can be difficult to recycle. That’s why we’re committed to eliminating plastic from our hardware product packaging by 2025. By focusing on fiber-based materials, we’re enabling consumers to more easily recycle our packaging and ensure that the materials will be accepted in as many recycling systems as possible.

We design Nest, Pixel, and Fitbit packaging to minimize the use of plastic. For new Google products launched and manufactured in 2022, our packaging was at least 96% plastic-free.¹ Packaging for Pixel 7 and 7 Pro uses 99% plastic-free materials², getting us closer to this goal. For more information on packaging for each of our products, see our Product Environmental Reports.

Transitioning packaging away from plastic is challenging because many plastic-free alternatives are often not available for specific packaging needs, so we need to work with suppliers to create plastic-free solutions that provide durability, protection, and aesthetics.

Creating truly sustainable electronics includes crafting experiences that guide consumers through the care, repair, reuse and recycling of their products. While there is much more work to do, we’ve taken some initial steps in understanding consumers’ and organizations’ needs and creating new services for them.

It all starts with making sure products last long to begin with. Enabling security updates and bug fixes helps promote product longevity. For Google Nest, we issue critical bug fixes and patches for at least five years after launch. Pixel 6 and later Pixel phones will get security updates for five years from when they first become available on the Google Store in the United States.¹ And new Chromebooks are built with sustainability in mind, with automatic updates for up to eight years that keep them running fast and secure.

Providing new ways to repair electronics is an important way to extend their life. In 2022, we announced our partnership with iFixit to provide genuine Pixel spare parts, tools, and documentation on models as far back as Pixel 2 for users who are skilled in repair and independent service providers. This partnership, alongside our other mail-in and authorized service provider repair channels, lowers costs and expands the choices customers have in Pixel phone repair. In tandem with our trade-in program, this extends the usable life of Pixel phones.

In 2022, we announced ChromeOS Flex and the Chromebook Repair program which aim to extend the useful life of laptops, PCs, and Chromebooks alike. ChromeOS Flex helps extend the life of aging Macs, PCs, and Linux devices by converting them to the ChromeOS ecosystem and reducing the amount of e-waste that’s generated.

We partner with device manufacturers (OEMs) to help increase the number of new Chromebooks that are made with recycled materials and are easy to customize, repair, and upgrade. You can upgrade the laptop’s memory and storage and replace key parts like the screen, battery and webcam without needing to replace your entire laptop.

In 2022, we launched a new feature that makes it easier than ever for people to find nearby recycling points on Search and Maps.¹

In addition to providing information on recycling depots and waste transfer stations, we’re also helping small businesses share when they offer in-store recycling. By adding the new recycling attribute to Business Profiles on Search and Maps, local storefronts and shops can show the recycling services they offer in just a few clicks—whether it’s for plastic bottles, packaging, or electronics. As a result, people looking for something like “battery recycling near me” can more easily pinpoint local businesses with the in-store recycling they need.

In addition, people who visit certain locations can make contributions in Maps and let others in their community know what types of materials can be recycled.

Global search interest in " slow fashion" reached a 15-year high in 2022.¹ And global searches for “thrifting” nearly tripled over the past three years², reaching a 15-year high in 2022.¹ Buying pre-owned items is a small action people can take to live more sustainably.

In 2022, we launched enhancements to the Google Shopping experience in the U.S. for pre-owned products, such as used and refurbished products. We’re highlighting which products are pre-owned, making it easier for people to find and buy second hand items.³