The environmental organization Greenpeace finds in a new report that large technology companies are lagging behind in CO2 reduction. In doing so, the organization is causing bad blood among the companies mentioned because they believe they are taking the necessary measures to limit the emission of harmful gases.

In the report, Greenpeace examines the activities of eleven of the largest tech players. According to the organization, just five manufacturers (Foxconn, Intel, Luxshare Precision, Samsung and TSMC) increased their emissions in 2022. Although this is partly due to increased production since 2020, The Register understands. Eight of the eleven companies surveyed are committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. “But no company has committed to halving emissions by 2030. “This is a minimum to limit warming to 1.5 degrees, as agreed in the Paris climate agreement,” the report says.

Purchasing green energy

Greenpeace has shown itself to be remarkably lenient towards the American chip manufacturer Intel. It has promised to switch to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. However, the chipmaker continues to rely heavily on environmentally friendly purchasing methods such as renewable energy certificates. And this energy can come from fossil fuels even on days when little solar or wind energy is available. The use of such certificates allows companies to continue emitting greenhouse gases. As long as they write a check to meet their Scope 2 goals.

The Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC also gets a pat on the back from Greenpeace for its goal of bringing forward the switch to 100 percent renewable energy from 2050 to 2040. Samsung, on the other hand, like several tech players, is sticking to the year 2050. “This deadline is too far into the future to prevent the most catastrophic consequences of climate change,” Greenpeace said. Samsung is even at the bottom because the transition to renewable energy is too slow, according to the report’s authors. The tech giant has no targets for 2030 and relies largely on purchasing certificates.

Foxconn in the pillory

According to Greenpeace, Foxconn, maker of Apple’s iPhone and other products, is the worst student in the class. The environmental organization pilloried Foxconn because the company had the highest emissions and the highest energy consumption. Its CO2 emissions were even higher than Iceland’s in 2022.

Greenpeace published a similar report last year. Even back then, companies such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Sony were criticized for continuing to be heavily dependent on fossil fuels in their supply chains. However, all companies have drawn up ambitious plans for their own activities. According to Greenpeace, the footprint of the entire value chain must also be taken into account.