In the AI battle, clean electricity accounted for 39.0%. How about this "big factory"'s carbon neutrality exam in fiscal year 2024?
Standing at the intersection of low-carbon transformation and computing power racing, how to upgrade the track by major Internet companies has become the focus of all parties. Microsoft, Google and other companies known as the "seven technology giants" in U.S. stocks are gaining momentum thanks to the AI concept. But at the same time, there are also anxiety about energy consumption, carbon neutrality goals and the process of addressing climate change. Low-carbon transformation and computing power racing. How can a "big factory" answer this multiple-choice question?
Recently, Google disclosed in its "2024 Environmental Report" that the company's carbon emissions in 2023 increased by 48% compared with 2019 (the base year for Google's 2030 net-zero emission target) and 13% year-on-year in 2022. The main reason is the increase in power consumption of data centers required by AI and the overall increase in supply chain carbon emissions. Not only that, the carbon emissions data and net-zero emission progress released by giants such as Microsoft and Amazon are also not optimistic.
So, when the AI battle between domestic Internet manufacturers is underway, how about reducing energy consumption and reducing emission levels? On July 25, Alibaba Group released the "2024 Environmental, Social and Governance Report"(hereinafter referred to as the ESG Report) and held an in-depth communication meeting, and handed over the carbon neutrality test paper for the 2024 fiscal year.
Data center clean power usage reaches 56.0%, PUE leads Asia
At present, an AI battle and racing competition are also starting in China. Various Internet cloud service and data center companies have added their number to deploy smart computing centers. Leading Internet technology companies are also facing the problem of growth in energy consumption and carbon emissions.
The reporter learned that in fiscal year 2024, Alibaba's various business segments are still making efforts in the field of emission reduction. Among them, the power utilization efficiency (PUE) of Alibaba Cloud's self-built data center continues to maintain the leading level in Asia, with the clean power usage ratio reaching 56.0%. Cainiao has created "Digital Intelligent Circular Logistics" and carried out emission reduction actions in important logistics links such as order, warehousing, packaging, and transportation. It has reduced emissions by a total of 458,000 tons in its own operations and value chain.
"In fiscal year 2024, the power utilization efficiency (PUE) of Alibaba Cloud's self-built data center will continue to maintain the leading level in Asia, with clean power usage reaching 56.0%. In order to obtain more stable clean electricity, we continue to make new attempts. In Hebei Province, we participated in the investment and construction of a 'source-network-load-storage' project with an installed capacity of 500 MW. At the same time, a 20-year long-term renewable energy power purchase agreement was implemented in Jiangsu Province. We also reuse our own low-carbon practices and experience in rental data centers to promote suppliers to be greener. In fiscal year 2024, the emission reduction of leased data centers will reach 551,000 tons, and the PUE will be 1.269." Wang Chaoyang, general manager of Alibaba Cloud's global data center, told reporters that in fiscal year 2024, Cainiao is committed to becoming the builder and leader of "digital and intelligent recycling logistics" and continues to carry out emission reduction actions in important logistics links such as order, warehousing, packaging, and transportation., a total of 458,000 tons of emissions were reduced in its own operations and value chain. Not only that, among the urban distribution of Cainiao Express's self-operated fleet, the proportion of trains delivered by new energy vehicles reaches 99%. As of March 31, 2024, in the campus distribution scenario, the cumulative number of signed packages delivered by the electric unmanned vehicle Xiaomandonkey exceeded 41 million.
The emission reduction reached 2.32 million tons, and the net carbon emissions of its own operations and the carbon intensity of the value chain achieved "double reductions"
In fiscal year 2022, ESG was officially established as one of Alibaba's cornerstone strategies. The reporter learned that fiscal year 2024 is a year for Alibaba to deepen ESG governance. On the issue of environmental protection, Alibaba continues to explore "reducing carbon in development" based on the guarantee of the ESG governance mechanism, and promotes green and low-carbon development through technology to improve energy efficiency, use renewable energy, and engage ecological partners to participate. High-quality development.
"Data shows that in fiscal year 2024, Alibaba achieved the 'double reduction' goal of carbon emissions from its own operations and carbon emission intensity of the value chain; the carbon emission reduction in its own operations reached 2.32 million tons, a significant increase from the previous fiscal year. 63.5%; the proportion of clean electricity used reached 39.0%. The value chain emission intensity dropped to 8.1 tons per million yuan in revenue, a year-on-year decrease of 7.0%." Xu Lanlan, head of ESG operations at Alibaba Group, said.
In fiscal year 2024, Alibaba focused on the two major strategies of "driving emission reduction" and "enabling emission reduction" to achieve platform ecological (scope 3+) emission reductions of approximately 33.338 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 45.5%. Among them, Alibaba Cloud provides users with greener and low-carbon computing power Infrastructure services, empowering users to reduce emissions by 9.884 million tons in fiscal year 2024. Taotian Group reduces emissions by a total of 10.1 million tons by driving consumers to purchase low-carbon friendly goods and assisting the development of circular economy.
Alibaba's ESG report pointed out that in the past year, Alibaba Group's own operating net carbon emissions and value chain carbon intensity have continued to achieve "double reductions", and the platform's ecological emission reduction has been significantly improved; We will serve the power of scientific and technological innovation and platform capabilities in areas such as barrier-free, medical care, rural areas, and aging-friendly, and have made certain progress. The medical AI pancreatic cancer early screening project has been implemented, Gaode wheelchair navigation has continued to expand, and rural commissioners have gone deep into more counties. Assist rural construction and continuously deepen the company's ESG governance structure through a series of measures.
Alibaba Cloud's self-built data center power efficiency continues to maintain Asia's leading level
The reporter learned at the meeting that Alibaba is currently also using digital technology to assist agricultural production and create jobs in the local area. Cainiao has built more than 1600 county-level common distribution centers across the country, greatly improving the overall logistics efficiency in rural areas. At the same time, we continue to explore environmentally friendly packaging solutions. In terms of reducing packaging use, Cainiao adopts strategies such as packing algorithm and original box delivery, reducing a total of 101,000 tons of packaging materials in fiscal year 2024. In terms of packaging reuse, Cainiao promotes the use of recycled boxes and the reuse of old cartons. In fiscal year 2024, the number of old cartons reused by Cainiao in the warehouse was 47.558 million.
In addition, a water use efficiency (WUE) management system has been established at Alibaba Cloud to implement responsible water management strategies. Currently, Ali has established a special action group to set WUE goals for each building in each self-built data center and achieve dynamic management. In fiscal year 2024, the average WUE of its self-built data centers was 1.205 liters/degree.
"Becoming a company with a higher position requires us to participate in solving some common propositions and propositions faced by our own development. I hope that during this process, every Ali person can learn to make difficult and correct choices, stay forward-looking, remain goodwill, and remain pragmatic." Wu Yongming, CEO of Alibaba Group, said.
