(Photo: The Indian wind farm project generates 109.6 megawatts annually from 137 turbines in three states. Credit: Atos and EcoAct)
Global IT services corporation Atos reports offsetting 100% of their worldwide 2018 carbon dioxide emissions through a dedicated wind program. The French company credits a wind farm carbon offsetting project in India managed by sustainability consultancy EcoAct.
EcoAct’s project began in 2010 to install 137 wind turbine generators across three states in India: Karnataka, Gujarat, and Maharashtra that generate 109.6 megawatts annually. Power from the wind farms supplies the state electricity grids, and helps the country meet its energy needs and widen the range of energy production sources, Atos and EcoAct say.
Since 2014, the project has offset emissions from Atos’ data centers. Now the dedicated wind farm program offsets carbon emissions produced by the IT services company’s offices and business travel.
The company’s environmental program encompasses data center modernization and reducing their power usage effectiveness (PUE) as well as increasing the use of decarbonized electricity and a global offsetting program, says Philippe Mareine, head of corporate social responsibility at Atos. Their clients can now put “zero” in their own carbon reporting for the solutions they host in Atos data centers.
Atos’ 2021 strategic plan committed to reducing carbon emissions by revenue as much as 20% against a 2016 baseline to help tackle climate change, Mareine said. Their long-term carbon reduction targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative as being in line with the global effort to limit the rise of climate change below 2°C, according to the company.
Based in Bezons, France, Atos currently has 120,000 employees in 73 countries and annual revenue exceeding €12 billion (around $13.48 billion). The group is also the worldwide information technology partner for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The wind project in India helps conserve natural resources that include land, forests, minerals, and ecosystems that would be affected by traditional forms of power generation, Atos and EcoAct say. “Unlike both fossil fuel and nuclear generation, wind energy does not require the use of water for cooling and therefore relieves the strain on local freshwater resources,” they added.
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