With Google Workspace, you can now track exactly how much power all your apps are using
Following the introduction of Carbon Footprint for Google Workspace With Google Cloud Next ’23, administrators can now monitor and analyze their electricity consumption.
The announcement is being created through a partnership with Electricity Maps, a company that offers an API that provides customers with readings of “real-time and predictive electricity signals.”
Previously, only top admins had access to carbon footprint information, but now the ability to assign a custom role with that capability is built into Workspace.
Carbon emissions are increasing
Google is right when it notes in its announcement that cloud computing and AI have dramatically increased the tech industry’s carbon emissions.
While the integration of the Electricity Maps API will help businesses know what to do to keep emissions low, the announcement fails to address the facts; that it is one of the best ways to reduce emissions. cloud storage And AI tool As the largest provider and company in the world, Google is likely more responsible for contributing to climate change than any of its customers.
The announcement mentions Google aims to be ‘carbon-free’ by 2030by both cutting costs and moving to ‘nature-based’ solutions, and sharing these with companies around the world, which is an honourable thing to do and, if achieved, means that Carbon Footprint for Workspace is not just a case of Google passing the buck to others.