Facebook Aims to Be Water Positive by 2030

Facebook set a goal of being water positive by 2030, meaning that it will return more water to the environment than it consumes for its global operations. The company said in a Newsroom post Thursday that it will turn to a combination of water restoration efforts starting in regions that are highly water stressed, along with technologies to increase water efficiency at its facilities. Pointing to its efforts that led to all of its offices and data centers being supported by 100% renewable energy and reaching net zero emissions by 2020, Facebook wrote, “We did this in large part by investing in the development of new clean energy generation in the places where we use the most electricity. In addition, our commitment to renewable energy has provided hundreds of billions of gallons of water savings, since wind and solar energy use less water than fossil fuels.” Facebook said it is taking a similar approach with water, investing in water restoration projects that will replenish more than 850 million gallons per year, and adding that those projects already restored roughly 595 million gallons of water in regions experiencing high levels of water stress in 2020. Those projects include sustaining aquatic habitats by supplying fresh water to river systems during dry seasons and providing drinking water to Navajo Nation families, as well as modernizing agricultural irrigation infrastructure to reduce the amount of water being extracted from at-risk sources. Facebook explained, “In Bernalillo County, N.M. for example, we’re providing funding to the Rio Grande Water Fund to restore the connection between the stressed Cedro Creek and its historic floodplain. This work increases climate resiliency in the region by mitigating drought and increasing biodiversity, restoring almost 20 million gallons of water per year.” The company teamed up with trusted local environmental nonprofits and utility providers to identify projects that would have the biggest impacts in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Utah, and it will expand this work internationally in the coming years to countries including India, Ireland, Mexico, Singapore and the U.K. In addition to restoring water to local watersheds, Facebook will continue to explore ways to reduce water usage across its properties, such as using onsite recycled water systems and working to make its data centers even more water-efficient. Facebook said those technologies, combined with the use of outside air to cool its data centers, have enabled those facilities to operate 80% more water-efficiently on average when compared with the industry standard. Finally, the company is investing in projects that may have a catalytic effect in watersheds around the world, which may include supporting local environmental nonprofits, governance, research and other non-volume-generating activities. Facebook wrote, “Becoming water positive by 2030 is a long-term goal, but like our goal to make our entire value chain net zero in 2030, it’s one we’re confident we can achieve based on the enormous advances made over the past decade. We believe commitments like these can make a meaningful contribution to the global race to build a more sustainable future.”