CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

GOOGLE
Introduction

It would be hard to find an organization that epitomizes the corporate social

responsibility of companies more than Google does. Since its inception in 1998, the
tech giant has continued to roll out apps that make life and business easier. Innovations
include Gmail, Google Drive, Google Earth, and, of course, the company’s pioneering
search engine. Almost everywhere we turn, there is a Google product that can make an
everyday task easier or push us to greater achievements.

The Reputation Institute is one of the many organizations that recognize Google for its
tech innovation and its commitment to CSR. The Institute measures the corporate social
responsibility of companies using a ranking system. In 2015, the Reputation Institute
ranked Google number one for global corporate social responsibility.

Google Comes Out On Top

The ranking system includes three criteria for inclusion on its list. Google manages to
consistently meet all three benchmarks while constantly expanding its CSR initiatives.
The three criteria the Reputation Institute looks for are:

Governance-includes transparency, openness, and corporate ethics.

Citizens-how a company supports good causes. Includes the positive influence Google
has on society and its environmental sustainability work.
Workplace-examines employee treatment and equal opportunity for advancement.
Google offers an array of perks and incentives for all its employees.

Citizenship and Sustainability

The Citizenship area may well be where Google makes its most public and ambitious
environmental impacts. The company went carbon neutral in 2007. Google also has its
sweeping Google Green program in place. There are many components of the program,
all dedicated to developing and sustaining green energy. Google is quite creative when
it comes to building green energy into its products and services. Prediction is a plug-in
for Google Maps that helps your car become more efficient by understanding and
analyzing where you are going. A more efficient car leads to better gas mileage, lower
emissions, and a significantly lower carbon footprint.

Google partnered with the Ford motor company to create Prediction. The partnership is
another example of Google’s ingenuity, flexibility, and leadership in the corporate social
responsibility of companies. Great CSR companies are able to innovate outside their
own sectors for a greater contribution to society as a whole.

Looking for a Smaller Carbon Footprint

Another step Google takes is using specialized electronic controls and monitoring
systems so that its data farms produce fewer greenhouse gases. The excess energy
from the data centers provides power for Google’s office complexes. There are even
goats on Google’s campus that help cut down on the use of fertilizer by eating weeds.
Google is a technologically advanced, complex company, but its green energy solutions
can be simple while still being effective.

In addition to providing its classic search and an array of apps to make our lives easier,
Google contributes to a cleaner environment in many surprising ways. Here is a partial
list of Google’s corporate responsibility as it relates to our environment.
Satellite services help indigenous tribes track and sometimes prevent deforestation in
their native lands.

Groups that protect wildlife can use Google Earth to see areas threatened by logging or
other industries.

In France, leaders have used Google maps to decide where and when to place
restrictions on water use.

Google owns a wind farm in Iowa. It also arranged to purchase electricity from an
Oklahoma wind farm. Many of its new data centers now run on renewable power.

Company shuttles, for employees, use biodiesel fuel. Google offers incentives to
employees who bike to work or use other alternatives to cars.

Google also offsets its carbon emissions by investing funds in green energy projects.
The funds help sustain projects that otherwise would not have existed
Corporate Social Responsibility of Companies

What is the corporate social responsibility of companies? It is a great question, and your
answer will guide you in making your own company more sustainable. Google’s big and
small examples of CSR will help you learn and will make you an innovator with your
own social entrepreneurial measures

Google’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Starting from 2015, Google issues environmental report that contains the details of
Google CSR programs and initiatives. The following are the most noteworthy parts of
Google performance in important fronts of CSR taken from Google Environmental
Report.

1. Energy Consumption by Google

Google data centres consume 50% less energy compared to a typical data centre
Google purchases or produces 24% of renewable energy and the company has 11%
renewable electricity already on the grid, thus total use of renewable energy accounts to
35%. The use of remaining 65% energy which is non-renewable is neutralized by
carbon offset projects.
In Mountain View campus 1.9 MW solar panels generate more than 3 million kWh clean
energy
Google has made an agreement to invest more than USD1.5 billion in renewable
energy projects such as large-scale wind and rooftop solar panels.
More than 4 million square feet of Google buildings have achieved green certification
status by LEED.
Alphabet Inc. Google’s parent company has committed to invest USD2.5 billion in solar
and wind projects
The average annual power usage effectiveness (PUE) for Google’s global fleet of data
centres was 1.12 in 2015, compared with the industry average of 1.7
To date, 854,000 square meters (9.2 million square feet) of Google office facilities have
achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

2. Water Consumption by Google

Google data centre in Berkeley County, South Carolina alone uses about 4 million
gallons of surface water per day
From 2013 to 2015, the internet giant reduced potable litres of water used per employee
by 30% at its Bay Area headquarters
In total, six of Google’s operating data centres have achieved 100% landfill diversion,
and one of these has reached Zero Waste to Landfill
The company has set regional water reduction targets for its offices in 2017
Waste Reduction and Recycling by Google

In 2015, Google has diverted 84% of waste from its global data centre operations away
from landfills, and so far in 2016, it has diverted 86%.
In 2015, 19% of the servers Google deployed were remanufactured machines
In 2015, 52% of the components Google used for machine upgrades in company data
centres were refurbished inventory

3. Carbon Emissions by Google

The company has been carbon neutral since 2007

Google’s ‘Commuting Sustainably’ program keeps 5,700 cars out of the road and
company shuttle program and electric vehicle charging stations is equivalent to more
than 87 million vehicle miles annually.
Google is increasing the range of its operations in cloud, a platform that is carbon
neutral with positive environmental implications
From 2009 to 2015, the company’s carbon intensity per revenue (metric tonnes Scope 1
and 2 CO2e/million USUSD) and per full-time equivalent employee both decreased by
more than 50%.

4. $1 billion commitment to create more opportunity for everyone

Google, recently announced a number of ways it is working to create more opportunity

for everyone, including a 5-year goal to award $1 billion in grants and contribute 1
million employee volunteer hours.

This commitment builds on the work Google have been doing since 2005 to extend the
reach of nonprofits innovators by connecting them with funding, tools, and volunteers
from Google. These innovators are the believers-turned-doers that have made a huge
impact on their communities and have a vision for creating change at scale. For
example, when Google.org first funded Khan Academy, it was a single person with a big
idea: provide a free, world class education to anyone, anywhere. With the help of our
seed funding and ongoing support, Khan Academy now has over 59 million registered
users, including 2 million registered teachers.
Google now doubles down on this approach, directing $1 billion in grants and
contributing 1 million volunteer hours to nonprofits that use technology and innovation to
tackle complex global challenges. Our efforts are focused in three areas where we
believe we can make an impact - Education, Economic Opportunity and Inclusion.

Closing the World’s Education Gap

What kids learn today shapes the world we live in tomorrow, but students in
disadvantaged communities continue to lag behind their peers with access to better
resources. This is particularly true for students in developing countries — at the current
rate, it would take 100 years for students in these regions to catch up. To help bridge
this gap, we’re supporting nonprofits that are building platforms to scale digital learning
resources to everyone, everywhere.

Google's initial $50 million commitment, announced earlier this year, is already showing
progress. Its grantees are launching new learning platforms, building apps for self-
directed learning, and creating new online lesson plans for teachers. With a grant from
Google.org, Pratham Books has accelerated the development of Story weaver, an
open-source platform that connects readers, authors, illustrators, and translators to
create free books for children around the world. With this support, the platform has
expanded to offer books in over 100 languages and to celebrate International Literacy
Day, Google launched an internal campaign to rally Google volunteers to translate
1,000 stories on Story Weaver. Google also recently deployed eight volunteer Google’s
to work with our grantee Learning Equality in Guatemala to help develop their offline
learning platform, Kolibri. This platform takes digital content like books, video tutorials,
and quizzes, and makes them available offline for students without regular access to the
internet. Google also committed $5 million of additional funding to UNHCR and Learning
Equality to bring this platform to learners in refugee camps, community centres, and
schools in Jordan, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
While technology alone will not improve education, students and teachers can thrive
when they have access to the best tools and resources. That's why Google continue to
support nonprofits innovators using technology to create new scalable education
solutions as part of our $1 billion commitment.

Helping People Prepare for the Future of Work

Google knows that economic mobility lies at the foundation of every productive society,
but the nature of work is changing. By 2020, one-third of jobs will require skills that
aren’t commonly found in today’s workforce. To address this challenge, it funding
organizations that are using technology and innovation to train people with new skills,
connect job-seekers with high-quality jobs, and support workers in low-wage
employment.
Earlier this year, they committed $50 million to help people prepare for the changing
nature of work. One of our initial grantees is Goodwill®, the leading workforce
development organization in the U.S. With a $10 million grant and 1,000 Google
volunteers, Goodwill will launch its Goodwill Digital Career AcceleratorSM -- an
innovative new initiative that will enable 1.2 million people across the U.S. to learn and
expand their digital skills and career opportunities. In Germany, Turkey and Jordan,
they are supporting Kiron to bring digital skills trainings to refugees through a
combination of online study and partnerships with local universities. And in France, they
are funding Bayes Impact to improve and scale their open-source software that uses big
data and machine learning to generate personalized job search recommendations, so
that people can find quality jobs that match their skills.
All of these organizations are leveraging technology to positively shape the future of
work and they are eager to support more non-profit innovators that are making work a
fair, satisfying, and viable pathway to prosperity for everyone.

Using data science and innovative new approaches to advance inclusion and justice for all

Without a fundamental commitment to inclusion -- the idea that everyone should have
an equal opportunity to participate and thrive in society -- the dream of equal education
and access to economic opportunity for all will never be realized. Bias can lead to the
exclusion of marginalized groups, including ethnic and religious minorities and the
LGBTQ+ community. As an information company, Google have seen the power of data
and technology to empower people and bridge gaps in understanding.
That’s why, since 2015, they granted more than $40 million to nonprofits that are finding
innovative ways to challenge bias and prejudice, and build a more equitable and just
society for all. Their recent work to support the Equal Justice Initiative, for
example, digitized their groundbreaking data on the history of racial violence in America,
and helped draw attention to the continued impact of lynching in America today. They
also recently gave $1 million to support the LGBT Centre’s efforts to create an
interactive augmented reality experience at the Stonewall National Monument in New
York. In the UK, they provided a grant to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, our first
grant from a global $5 million innovation fund, to support new ideas in countering hate
and extremism, both online and offline.

Through knowledge and transparency projects like these, our grantees are working to
build a more just and equitable world. They excited to continue to support them by
amplifying their voices and accelerating their efforts to build equal access to opportunity
for all.
By bringing their funding, tools, and employee know-how to support nonprofits focusing
on these critical issues, they hope to propel the work of these organizations forward,
and help create a world with opportunity for everyone.

5. Google’s CSR initiative towards Education

To help expand learning for everyone

Working to support education through their products, programs, and philanthropy.

Google Cloud Platform

Understand student success, boost research, or improve infrastructure with the secure,
easy-to-use tools of Google Cloud Platform.

G Suite for Education

Transform how educators and students learn, work, and innovate together with free,
secure tools from G Suite for Education.

Chromebooks
Make learning more effective and engaging with Chromebooks — simple, secure, and
shareable devices that teachers and students can use to create and collaborate.
Jumpstart learning in the classroom
See how Google tools and resources help teachers and students create, collaborate,
and build digital skills for the future.

HIGHERED SOLUTIONS
Unlock possibilities at colleges and universities
Find out how Google solutions are powering advanced research, breakthrough
discoveries, and learning opportunities.
Teaching resources to empower learning in the classroom discover a broad selection of
apps, activities, lesson plans, digital literacy tools, and games to advance learning in the
classroom including virtual field trips, lessons on coding, and more. Students deserve
every opportunity to succeed in computer science. Learning skills in computer science
helps students thrive in a rapidly changing world. That's why it's Code with Google's
goal to make sure everyone has access to the collaborative, coding, and technical skills
that can unlock opportunities in the classroom and beyond. “Technology alone will not
improve education, but it can be a powerful part of the solution”
Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google
Projects to help close global equity gaps in education Technology are transforming
teaching and learning. It’s helping kids learn at their own pace, become creative
problem solvers, and effective collaborators. But for those without access, existing
learning gaps are only widening. That's why we’ll continue directing our products,
people, programs, and philanthropy toward a future where every student has access to
the quality education they deserve.

6. To help those affected by crises, Google look to rapidly support

and scale effective solutions.

Google.org supports nonprofits working alongside affected communities throughout the

entire disaster cycle -- from immediate relief to long term recovery and future
preparedness.
A closer look
The challenge
A crisis can emerge anytime, anywhere—and each is a unique challenge. Consider the
data: In the last decade, more than 2.6 billion people have been affected by natural
disasters such as earthquakes and floods. Nearly 132 million people, or one in every 70
people, will need humanitarian assistance in 2019.And conflict continues to displace
millions. Nonprofits on the frontlines need immediate and long-term funding to help
those who need it most, and in many cases, volunteer efforts can amplify impact.

Google's Focus
When crises happen, reacting quickly, effectively, and collaboratively is the only way to
help as many people as possible. That’s why we look to give strategic packages of
support, including providing nonprofits with short-term and long-term funding or
connections to the right volunteers—whether that's a data scientist or an engineer.

Google's work

1. Ongoing support for refugees around the world

The world is facing the largest refugee crisis since World War II—in fact, the number of
people forcibly displaced by violence or persecution exceeded 70 million in 2018, the
highest in nearly 70 years. Since 2015, they’ve invested more than $25 million in grants
supporting innovative solutions to provide emergency support and also access to vital
information and education to more than 1,000,000+ refugees. Early on, a matching
campaign on Google homepages in 37 countries raised $5.5 million to help provide fast,
flexible funding for emergency response. In addition to funding, volunteer Google
engineers and UX designers have helped nonprofits deploy connectivity solutions and
designed mobile applications enabling access to local information and translation
services.
● Building a mobile platform to provide refugees with credible information
● Helping NGOs and aid workers translate critical information for refugees through an
Open-sourced app
● Giving refugees access to connectivity and devices
● Deploying portable media kits featuring educational content for students

Immediate relief support to people in Texas and Gulf Coast affected by Hurricane
Harvey
When natural disasters strike they can devastate communities. Hurricane Harvey, a
Category 4 storm, made landfall over Texas, devastating the Gulf Coast and the fourth
largest city in the U.S., Houston. It was the most powerful hurricane to hit the United
States in a decade. Google.org donated $2 million directly to Hurricane Harvey relief
efforts, and through our matching campaigns, raised an additional $2.5 million from the
public and Google employees.

Using data to track Zika

When the World Health Organization declared Zika a public health emergency,
Google.org gave $1 million to help fight the pandemic. They also saw two other ways to
help: increase awareness and support a data platform to track the disease. They sent a
volunteer team of Google engineers, designers, and data scientists to support UNICEF
to develop a platform to map the spread of disease, and implemented updates to
Google products that made Zika information more readily accessible.

2. Developing a platform to identify and track an outbreak

Fighting the Ebola outbreak

The Ebola outbreak devastated communities and put thousands of people at risk, as the
virus is highly contagious and has a high mortality rate. They donated $15 million dollars
to support Ebola response efforts to nonprofits such as InSTEDD and Partners in
Health, and through our matching campaign generated an additional $2.5 million from
the public. Googlers also volunteered with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to create a
tablet that could be sanitized in chlorine solution and used by MSF and other
organizations in the field. 29,000+ cases of Ebola reported since 2014.
 7. Google.org granted $3 million to Indian Nonprofits’

In its effort to bridge the learning gap in India, Google.org – Google’s philanthropic arm, said
that it will provide additional grants of $3 million to Central and The Teacher App.
Together with the partner NGOs, Google.org will help them scale their existing initiatives
and fund content creation and teacher training, through tech-based learning solutions.

Background
The reasons behind the lag in learning levels are varied and complex, but limited access to
quality materials, under-resourced teachers, and barriers to learning outside the classroom
are among the many challenges.

As per the data shared by the Ministry of HRD, there are 11 lakh teachers currently
teaching in schools that are not properly trained and according to a World Bank report,
there are approximately 1,30,000 single teacher schools in India. The annual ASER
2017report also points out the need to help students in 14 to 18 age group, to acquire
foundational skills like reading and basic arithmetic.

The Teacher App

With a grant of a $1 million to The Teacher App in India, Google.org aims to empower
teachers with the right training and resources on concepts of math, science, language, and
pedagogy, for a more holistic learning experience. The funds will be used to scale the
platform to reach 500,000 teachers in two years.
“The new funds will help contribute in building more locally relevant solutions and content
for students and teachers.” said, Nick Cain, Education Lead, and Google.org.

With online video emerging as a popular medium of learning, Google.org will provide a
$2 million grant and technical assistance from the YouTube Learning team, to the Central
Square Foundation to aid the expansion of high quality, curriculum-aligned educational
video content.

Nick Cain, Education Lead, Google.org and Satya Raghavan, Head of Entertainment for
India with partner non profits
The grant will support a minimum of 20 content creators to produce at least 200 hours of
quality Science, Technology, Engineering and Math content in Hindi and vernacular
languages. Interested educators or content creators can get in touch through this form.
India was among the first country to receive grants from Google.org’s global $50 million
commitment to support nonprofits who are building tech-based learning solutions that tackle
education challenges in developing countries.