Mozilla has set out its climate commitments today as it aims to significantly reduce its emissions and mitigate what it can’t avoid. Things it plans to implement include switching its offices to renewable energy, reviewing its travel policies, exploring cloud optimisation, and developing toolkits “for product integrity and design principles.” It will share more details of its plans as it works them out.
The four commitments that the firm has pledged to follow include going carbon-neutral, significantly reducing its greenhouse gas footprint to meet or exceed the targets in the Paris Climate Agreement, it will lead openly by sharing materials, tools and methodologies so other firms can reduce their emissions in a similar way and it will look to develop products from a sustainability perspective and collaborate with others to “amplify” the impact.
Commenting on the firm’s climate change responsibilities, Mozilla Firefox CEO Mitchell Baker said:
“In these disruptive, crises-ridden times, our attention is often captured by the immediate political and technical challenges right in front of us. Facing the climate crisis and ensuring that there is a habitable planet for us and future generations to continue fighting these fights is not something that can be pushed to the back seat. I, and Mozilla, are committed to protecting the environment.”
Until now, the firm has been offsetting its emissions in order to be carbon-neutral but it knows that it’s better not to emit in the first place and this is what it wants to achieve in the coming years. It said that to bring down its emissions there will need to be a lot of change on the organisational and cultural level. Mozilla will provide training to staff and provide incentives to encourage employees to make changes.
In 2021, the firm said it will look to strengthen a remote culture and incentivise more sustainable set-ups, it’ll look ensure travel is only done when necessary, it wants to achieve zero waste in offices and co-working spaces and it wants to look at going paper-free.