China: ByteDance announces pledge for carbon neutral operations by 2030
Mar 27, 2023 | Posted by MadalineDunn
ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, which historically, has been criticized for not “keeping up with its peers,” has announced its pledge to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2030. The company has outlined that while it will seek to reduce its operational carbon footprint by 90%, it will rely on offsets for the remaining 10%. This announcement comes after Greenpeace found that ByteDance was among the lowest-scoring companies with regard to its climate commitments and renewable energy use.
In a statement, the company said that it is “mindful” of its impact “both on and offline.” Adding: “A meaningful sustainability approach is good for business, our communities and the world around us.” To evidence its efforts, it recently announced that its new Norway data center would run on 100 per cent renewable energy. That said, regarding GHG emissions and energy usage, the company is yet to publicly disclose its data. Further, its plan to offset the remaining emissions not covered by its decarbonization pledge, will likely receive some criticism. Previously, Ye Ruiqi, Greenpeace East Asia’s Beijing-based climate and energy project manager, said “Carbon offsets are not a substitute for direct emissions cuts and should not serve as an excuse for continued fossil-fuel reliance.”
Speaking more recently about the company’s pledge, Greenpeace East Asia Climate and Energy Project Manager Ruiqi Ye said: “Finally, ByteDance is catching up with peers like Meta and Tencent, and we are thrilled to see a major internet company taking the reins in becoming sustainable. But to come through on this commitment, ByteDance needs to quickly scale up its renewable energy procurement.”
Ye explained that the way in which ByteDance scales up renewable energy procurement around Asia will “be key to its success.” However, she explained that so far, the company’s commitments only cover its own operations and “exclude the value chain,” such as its suppliers.
“In reality, this probably accounts for most of ByteDance’s total emissions. We’re looking forward to seeing an emissions reduction plan for ByteDance’s whole value chain, which the company plans to produce later this year, and we also ultimately hope for full disclosure of emissions data, and seeing regular, concrete updates of its progress,” Ye added.
In a statement, the company said that it is “mindful” of its impact “both on and offline.” Adding: “A meaningful sustainability approach is good for business, our communities and the world around us.” To evidence its efforts, it recently announced that its new Norway data center would run on 100 per cent renewable energy. That said, regarding GHG emissions and energy usage, the company is yet to publicly disclose its data. Further, its plan to offset the remaining emissions not covered by its decarbonization pledge, will likely receive some criticism. Previously, Ye Ruiqi, Greenpeace East Asia’s Beijing-based climate and energy project manager, said “Carbon offsets are not a substitute for direct emissions cuts and should not serve as an excuse for continued fossil-fuel reliance.”
Speaking more recently about the company’s pledge, Greenpeace East Asia Climate and Energy Project Manager Ruiqi Ye said: “Finally, ByteDance is catching up with peers like Meta and Tencent, and we are thrilled to see a major internet company taking the reins in becoming sustainable. But to come through on this commitment, ByteDance needs to quickly scale up its renewable energy procurement.”
Ye explained that the way in which ByteDance scales up renewable energy procurement around Asia will “be key to its success.” However, she explained that so far, the company’s commitments only cover its own operations and “exclude the value chain,” such as its suppliers.
“In reality, this probably accounts for most of ByteDance’s total emissions. We’re looking forward to seeing an emissions reduction plan for ByteDance’s whole value chain, which the company plans to produce later this year, and we also ultimately hope for full disclosure of emissions data, and seeing regular, concrete updates of its progress,” Ye added.
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