The Hangzhou-based company is tapping smart energy management and increasing the use of clean energy as it strives to hit its goal of carbon neutrality by 2030.
In addition to slashing net emissions in its operations, Alibaba reported a 22.907 million metric tons decline in carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) from across its broader ecosystem in its fiscal year.
“Over the past year, we have worked to deliver high-quality achievement of our established carbon neutrality goals,” said Alibaba Group Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang in the report.
The company has leveraged its platform power to promote decarbonisation across its wider ecosystem, with participants and partners spanning commerce, logistics and cloud computing.
Alibaba’s cloud computing subsidiary is a step closer to its goal of having its global data centres running entirely on clean energy by 2030, the report shared. The proportion of clean electricity generated from sources such as solar, water and wind used in its self-built data centres in China jumped from 21.6% in its 2022 fiscal year to 53.9% in its 2023 fiscal year.
The overall power usage effectiveness of its data centres, total facility power over IT equipment energy, declined to 1.215 in the period from 1.247 a year earlier due to increased use of energy-saving technology such as liquid-cooling server technology and power management optimisation.
Further, in collaboration with its partners, Alibaba has taken the lead in promoting green logistics, low-carbon transportation, and building sustainable retail stores to green the value chain. According to the report, logistics subsidiary Cainiao Group cut down packaging materials by 184,000 tons in its 2023 fiscal year by promoting shipments with used packages.
In the retail space, its business groups, including Sun Art Retail, Intime, and Freshippo, have adopted packaging recycling programmes and embraced energy-saving renovations such as air conditioner renovation to reduce carbon footprint along the value chain.
“We hope that more and more peers will explore the future of sustainable development together, create value beyond business, and jointly build a healthy, comprehensive, and mutually prosperous sustainable ecosystem,” said Zhang in the report.
