2024 Sustainability Report - Meta Sustainability

2024 Sustainability Report

For a better reality

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Our sustainability strategy is anchored by three components that inform the ways we help to drive change across the many communities in which we operate.

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How we operate

We are committed to protecting what is truly important: the wellbeing of people and our planet.
What we create

We push the boundaries of what’s possible, creating solutions where none existed and building technologies and programs that enable change.
How we collaborate

Our collaborations underpin how we operate and what we create because we know it will take everyone working together to make the systems-level changes required to build a climate-resilient better reality: sustainability experts, researchers, local utilities, nonprofit organizations and our employees.

Goals and commitments

Since 2020, we have maintained net zero GHG emissions in our global operations. We have publicly committed to achieving net zero emissions across our value chain and becoming water positive in 2030.

In support of these goals and our vision for a transition to a zero-carbon economy and a healthier planet for all, we have identified additional objectives and commitments.

Restore 200% of the water we consume in high water stress regions and 100% of the water we consume in medium water stress regions.

Continue to match 100% of our electricity use with renewable energy.

Reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% in 2031 from a 2021 baseline.

Enable at least two-thirds of our suppliers to set science-aligned emissions reduction targets by 2026.

Not exceed our 2021 baseline Scope 3 emissions by the end of 2031.

Positively impact the communities and environment where we operate, and expect supply chain partners to uphold high human rights and environmental standards.

Highlights

Striving for net zero value chain emissions

The Net Zero Supplier Engagement Program enables us to set expectations with key suppliers for committing to emissions reduction targets and to support them in meeting those targets. By the end of 2023, 28% of our suppliers, based on their contribution to Meta’s emissions, have set science-aligned emissions reduction targets

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Becoming water positive

We are committed to becoming water positive in 2030. To achieve this goal, Meta will restore 200% of the water we consume in high water stress areas, and 100% of the water we consume in medium water stress areas. In 2023, 18 operational water restoration projects returned more than 1.5 billion gallons of water to high and medium water stress regions.

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Matching 100% of our electricity use with renewable energy

Our portfolio of more than 11,700 megawatts (MW) of contracted renewable energy makes Meta one of the largest corporate buyers of renewable energy globally, and the corporate buyer with the largest operating renewable energy portfolio in the U.S. for the second year running with more than 6,700 MW online.

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Operating a responsible supply chain

Meta is part of a complex value chain that impacts lives and communities around the globe. In 2023, we expanded the reach of our process chemicals program to additional hardware suppliers to inform their capacity-building needs, corrective actions and improvement plans to further protect worker safety.

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Setting the standard for data center sustainability

Data centers are part of the global infrastructure that brings our technologies and services to life. Meta designs and operates some of the most sustainable data centers in the industry, but they still account for the highest percentage of our energy and water use.

We approach data center sustainability from the ground up—from design and construction to operations by prioritizing energy efficiency, renewable energy, water stewardship and responsibly managing the end of life of our equipment.

91%

of our data center construction waste was recycled in 2023

100%

of our data centers are certified LEED Gold or higher

We are in the business of building better realities—and not just virtual ones

Enabling renewable energy sourcing

Along with several other companies, Meta partnered with the Clean Energy Buyers Institute to launch the Clean Energy Procurement Academy (CEPA), which builds solutions and offers training to help suppliers source renewable energy.
Longleaf pine forest restoration

Meta partnered with Texan by Nature, the Texas Longleaf Team, and several companies to invest nearly $1M to restore 2,000 acres of longleaf pine forest. A healthy longleaf pine ecosystem will filter and store freshwater, sequester carbon, support biodiversity, and benefit the community. Through restoration of the 2,000 acres, increased water filtration is projected to provide over 200 million gallons per year.
National Indian Carbon Coalition

Through 1t.org, the National Indian Carbon Coalition and Meta have pledged to promote a model for carbon removal projects that centers on the leadership, traditional ecological knowledge and vision of Indigenous Peoples for themselves and the land they care for. Through this partnership, we pledge to develop no fewer than three carbon removal credit generating projects that protect and restore forest lands through Indigenous/tribal and community leadership.
Renewable energy and battery storage

In partnership with the local electrical utility (Salt River Project) and with the renewable developer Ørsted, a new solar plus storage project announced in 2023 will help match the electricity our Mesa, Arizona data center uses with 100% renewable energy. Meta will receive the majority portion of the energy generated by Ørsted’s Eleven Mile Solar Center, a 300 MW solar farm and 300 MW, four-hour battery energy storage system currently under construction in Pinal County, Arizona.
ZEROgrid

We are partnering with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and other leading companies on a new effort, the Zero Emissions | Reliability Optimized Grid Initiative or ZEROgrid, that will develop a roadmap and action plan to foster increased corporate climate investments that maximize the potential for moving to a truly zero emissions, and more reliable grid.