Alibaba Group Holding reported significant improvements in reducing carbon emissions over the past year, with ‘clean’ electricity accounting for more than half of all power consumption in its cloud data centers, as the company pursues its commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030 in line with China’s target of net zero emissions by 2060.
The e-commerce giant reduced its carbon emissions by 2.32 million tons in the last fiscal year, a 63.5 percent improvement from the previous year. More than half of the electricity used in its data centers is generated from renewable energy sources, according to its latest ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) report.
Alibaba, which is based in Hangzhou and owns the South China Morning Post, reported total carbon emissions from its own operations of 4.45 million tons last year, down 5 percent from the previous year, according to an ESG report published on Monday.
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According to the report, under Scope 3+, which covers emissions generated by “activated and engaged” stakeholders in Alibaba’s ecosystem, the company reported a reduction in emissions of 33.34 million tons, an increase of 45.5 percent from last year.
Alibaba Cloud, China’s largest public cloud service provider and the world’s third largest by revenue, has reduced its carbon emissions by 9.88 million tons, a 44 percent improvement year-on-year.
Alibaba Cloud unveiled its Tongyi Qianwen large-language model last September. Photo: Handout. alt=Alibaba Cloud unveiled its Tongyi Qianwen large-language model last September. Photo: Handout.>
The report also found that clean electricity consumption in Alibaba Cloud’s self-built data centers increased by 53.9 percent year-on-year, accounting for 56 percent of its total electricity consumption.
“Our ESG-related activities have shaped the essence of Alibaba over the past 25 years and are as important to Alibaba as creating corporate value,” wrote Eddie Wu Yongming, CEO of Alibaba Group, in an open letter included in the report.
“The development of generative AI has introduced enormous potential for AI computing capabilities and increased demand for clean computing,” Wu wrote. “We should take full advantage of the energy transition, actively embrace green energy, and develop cleaner computing capabilities.”
Cainiao, the company’s smart logistics arm, reused 47.6 million cardboard boxes in its warehouses and saved approximately 101,000 tons of packaging material through the application of algorithms.
In addition to efforts to reduce carbon emissions, Alibaba also reported measures to democratize AI technologies and strengthen micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in China.
Since Alibaba Cloud unveiled its Tongyi Qianwen Large Language Model (LLM) last September, it has made 3,800 open-source models available for developers to download and use for free within the ModelScope community.
According to the report, more than 2.2 million companies and organizations have used AI tools on Alibaba’s office communication and collaboration platform DingTalk.
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