If you pay attention to voluntary carbon markets, particularly if you’ve been working with them for more than a few years like I have, you may have found the past year of seemingly constant media coverage and debate to be rather dizzying. Journalists writing about baselines and project methodologies? John Oliver spending 10 minutes of air time on additionality? Whoa! It wasn’t that long ago that even the most climate-savvy journalists weren’t paying much attention. Hardly anyone was buying, selling was a slog. 

There wasn’t much to write or debate about because not much was happening. 

Today, it’s safe to say we’re not in Kansas anymore, unless by Kansas you mean agricultural soil carbon projects or geologic carbon storage. Voluntary carbon markets and corporate participation in them have prompted debates over what’s working, what’s not, how to fix them and who should make the rules. They’ve become some of the hottest topics on the climate agenda. There’s a lot of debate because a lot is happening. 

And while healthy debate can point us to better approaches, more transparency and bigger ambitions for our climate goals, it can be less helpful when it treats climate solutions like a zero sum game, when it runs the risk of lowering ambition, or gives us the sense that there can be only one answer — and one legitimate road — to reaching our climate goals.

Technology vs. Trees

A particularly heated debate has arisen for one project type in particular: carbon removal projects. Carbon removal refers to projects that, rather than reducing the amount of CO2 going into the atmosphere, actually remove CO2 that is already there. These projects, combined with dramatic emissions cuts, enable us to reverse the concentration of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the atmosphere. 

Carbon removal is an interesting space within voluntary carbon markets, because it’s one of the few designations that includes projects that are nature-based — for instance, restoring degraded land with natural forests or shifting agricultural practices to increase trees in the landscape — as well as those that are technology-driven, such as direct air capture and storage, the creation of materials that incorporate long-lived carbon storage, such as biochar, or bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.

Much of the media and social media information on carbon removal might lead you to believe that you’ve got to be pro-one type of carbon removal and anti-the other. You’re either on team trees or team technology, and ever the twain shall compete. 

At Meta, however, we believe that both approaches are needed in our climate change efforts, and that treating them like mutually exclusive options is risky: risky for a carbon removal credit buyer’s portfolio, risky for a corporation’s climate ambition, and risky for securing and deploying the climate finance we need.

Uniting Team Technology and Team Trees

Let’s dive into a couple of the main points that have been used to divide carbon removal into Team Trees and Team Technology.

Myth


Technological carbon removal is too expensive and can’t reach scale fast enough to meaningfully contribute to climate mitigation.

As a founding member of Frontier, a collaborative commitment to buy over $1 billion of permanent carbon removal between 2022 and 2030, Meta is supporting investment into new high-mitigation-potential approaches, such as direct air capture, biomass burial, and bio-oil sequestration. Such innovations will be necessary at scale if we’re to have a real chance at hitting our ambitious climate targets

As early buyers, we know that the price per ton must come down in order for these new approaches to attract deep voluntary carbon market interest. That’s why we are rolling up our sleeves to do the hard work of figuring out which approaches are safe and sustainably scalable, while also signaling to the market that we’ll commit to buying technological carbon removal if projects innovate, test, and scale successful approaches. 

Now is the time to look at how technological carbon removal can play a part in your procurement strategy: to signal commitment to a future where these approaches are drawing down gigatonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere and durably storing it for the long term.

Myth


Forests are temporary, technology is permanent.

One of the main criticisms aimed at Team Trees is that they serve only as temporary carbon removal and storage, while direct air capture and enhanced rock weathering are permanent. 

While it’s true that individual trees each have their own lifespan of decades to centuries, forests can last for much longer. We have forests on our planet today that have persisted for millions of years. Forests represent a perpetual climate solution, one we can’t do without. Without them, we lose on climate and an inhabitable planet. Even if we find ways to suck all excess CO2 out of the atmosphere and store it safely with technology, if we lose forests, we still lose.

For sure, storing carbon by growing forests includes risks that don’t apply to CO2 stored underground or in a stable rock formation through technological approaches. Fires, droughts, and pests are having increasing impacts on forests globally, and climate change will exacerbate these risks for future forests. But the top reason for forest carbon reversals is still human decisions to degrade and deforest them. And we can do more about all of these risks. 

What if we price in the costs to bring down durability risk of forest carbon removal projects in meaningful ways? How much would it cost per ton to meaningfully impact the largest driver of forest carbon reversals: human decisions to destroy forests? For example, if forest restoration projects were paid $100/ton today to reduce the reversal risks they face, whether they be fire, timber or land value, or pest incursions, what could they do to bring that risk down that they can’t do for $25/ton?  Given all of the important global and local impacts of healthy forests, shouldn’t we be doing more to understand and reflect the impact of price on durability? This is an area that needs more research and innovative thinking.

Myth


Companies cannot responsibly address their emissions with any project that may not still hold stored carbon in 1000 years.

Some voices from Team Technology claim that it’s an irresponsible choice for a corporate buyer of carbon removal credits to choose natural carbon removal for offsetting residual emissions because of a mismatch between how long the corporate emission stays in the atmosphere and how long trees live.

Setting aside the debate over how long forests can endure, even if a significant portion of the natural carbon removal projects that companies support with their net zero finance last for decades or centuries rather than a thousand years, they still provide a vitally important role in reversing the impacts of emissions. Given the crucial role of the coming decades in our ability to reach global targets, and given the tools and instruments that our societies can deploy to express and enforce responsibility and commitment, it is this decades-to-centuries timeframe that we should be most focused on. Global climate targets represent a shared commitment by all countries to a certain level of mitigation ambition – success or failure will directly impact people’s lives and livelihoods.  So we can’t justify  substituting any delay in action that may be required by new technologies for the tried-and-true solutions we have today. What happens a millennium from now is much less material for the intersection of climate, durability and corporate responsibility than what happens in carbon removal over the next ten, fifty or one hundred years. Forests and natural carbon removal can deliver on climate mitigation now, at scale, with at least decades-to-centuries durability, with low risks to safety, reasonable costs, and legion beneficial local environmental and social impacts. 

Forests are not only a perpetual climate solution, they are an indispensable climate solution. You can’t substitute them for fans that suck CO2 out of the atmosphere, even though these new technologies will be crucial to meeting climate targets. Unlike most carbon removal technologies, we can’t substitute forests for any other climate solution. They have to be part of the mix, no matter what the rest of the mix looks like.

When it comes to carbon removal, it’s not a zero sum game. Natural and technological carbon removal are both necessary, vital solutions for corporate climate action, and they even combine to showcase some amazing approaches that reveal how arbitrary the line between them can be. Team Technology vs. Team Trees is an unhelpful distraction from the very real and exciting challenges that carbon removal presents. Both nature-based and technology-based carbon removal offer powerful tools to complement companies’ priority efforts in reducing their emissions to the maximum possible levels. They each represent vital pieces of the mitigation puzzle, offering pathways to impact at scale, with durability covering the crucial decades-to-century time frame and beyond. 

It’s time to leave the technology vs. trees debate behind and work together to grow corporate climate finance responsibly. Anything else is just too risky. 

News

Get the latest news about our sustainability work, download reports and resources and explore our energy dashboards.

Steam coming out of cooling towers of coal-fired power station, aerial view
News

Investing in Value Chain Emissions Reduction Projects

The scope of this RFI is specific to our efforts to invest in value chain emissions reduction projects. As such, we are initiating an RFI for value chain emissions reduction projects so that we can directly connect with entities that are positioned to originate, host, and/or support a value chain emissions reduction project or the increased offtake of low-carbon solutions or materials. 

August 1, 2023
Redwood Forest in the sunlight
News

Introducing Meta’s 2023 Sustainability Report

For over a decade, Meta has been focused on reporting on its environmental impact. Our efforts to accurately understand our impact helps us more efficiently chart a course of action to minimize our emissions, as well as the energy and water used to power our business, products and workplaces—while protecting workers and the environment in our supply chain.

July 25, 2023

2023 Sustainability Report

We envision a just and equitable transition to a zero-carbon economy and are working to scale inclusive solutions that help create a healthier planet for all.

News

Get the latest news about our sustainability work, download reports and resources and explore our energy dashboards.

Steam coming out of cooling towers of coal-fired power station, aerial view
News

Investing in Value Chain Emissions Reduction Projects

The scope of this RFI is specific to our efforts to invest in value chain emissions reduction projects. As such, we are initiating an RFI for value chain emissions reduction projects so that we can directly connect with entities that are positioned to originate, host, and/or support a value chain emissions reduction project or the increased offtake of low-carbon solutions or materials. 

August 1, 2023
Redwood Forest in the sunlight
News

Introducing Meta’s 2023 Sustainability Report

For over a decade, Meta has been focused on reporting on its environmental impact. Our efforts to accurately understand our impact helps us more efficiently chart a course of action to minimize our emissions, as well as the energy and water used to power our business, products and workplaces—while protecting workers and the environment in our supply chain.

July 25, 2023
aerial view of red fields
Climate

Mapping our Path to Net Zero

Rapid decarbonization across our business is our best chance to limit the worst impacts of climate change, which is critical to sustain healthy and equitable communities we are a part of.

July 25, 2023

2023 Sustainability Report

We envision a just and equitable transition to a zero-carbon economy and are working to scale inclusive solutions that help create a healthier planet for all.

At Meta, our mission is to help people build community and bring the world closer together. Operating sustainably and addressing climate change through bold, meaningful action are paramount to our mission and essential to help the world avoid the worst effects of climate change. Since 2020, we have maintained net zero emissions in our global operations, and have set a goal to reach net zero emissions across our entire value chain in 2030. Our emissions reduction strategy entails three main approaches, in order of priority:

  1. Prioritizing decarbonization in our business decisions
  2. Engaging with our suppliers to reduce their emissions
  3. Investing in value chain emissions reduction projects

Request for Information

The scope of this RFI is specific to our efforts to invest in value chain emissions reduction projects. As such, we are initiating an RFI for value chain emissions reduction projects so that we can directly connect with entities outside of our direct supplier network that are positioned to originate, host, and/or support a pilot/demonstration-scale value chain emissions reduction project or the increased offtake of low-carbon solutions or materials.  This RFI is focused on the hard-to-abate sectors within which our value chain partners operate. Hard-to-abate sectors and activities that are applicable to this RFI include the following:

  • Trucking and lighter duty road transportation of durable goods
  • Maritime shipping
  • Aviation shipping
  • Increasing the production or offtake of low-carbon cement and concrete
  • Increasing the production or offtake of low-carbon copper
  • Increasing the production or offtake of low-carbon steel
  • Abating fluorinated greenhouse gasses in electronics manufacturing
  • Heating and cooling of commercial and industrial facilities
  • Increasing production and offtake of green hydrogen


In order to receive the RFI, we require organizations to have an executed NDA in Meta’s mutual NDA template, which we will send to organizations directly if they wish to proceed. If your organization would like to receive the RFI, please complete this NDA intake request. As soon as the NDA is executed, you will receive the RFI.

Key Milestones

Deadline to execute Meta’s mutual NDA

*Meta will distribute the RFI to each respondent as soon as the mutual NDA is executed
September 14, 2023
Last day that Meta will distribute the RFISeptember 15, 2023
Deadline to submit RFI responseNovember 10, 2023, 12pm Pacific Time
Diligence on proposals received

*During this period, firms that don’t meet Meta’s due diligence criteria will be notified via email
November – December 2023
Expected outreach to firms with responses that Meta intends to explore furtherJanuary 2024

News

Get the latest news about our sustainability work, download reports and resources and explore our energy dashboards.

Redwood Forest in the sunlight
News

Introducing Meta’s 2023 Sustainability Report

For over a decade, Meta has been focused on reporting on its environmental impact. Our efforts to accurately understand our impact helps us more efficiently chart a course of action to minimize our emissions, as well as the energy and water used to power our business, products and workplaces—while protecting workers and the environment in our supply chain.

July 25, 2023
aerial view of red fields
Climate

Mapping our Path to Net Zero

Rapid decarbonization across our business is our best chance to limit the worst impacts of climate change, which is critical to sustain healthy and equitable communities we are a part of.

July 25, 2023
Up close view of a wind turbine with light blue sky and clouds in background
Climate

Joining the ZEROgrid initiative

We’re proud to partner with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and other leading companies to broaden the scope of that ambition to help create the clean, reliable, and affordable grid of the future.

July 18, 2023

2023 Sustainability Report

We envision a just and equitable transition to a zero-carbon economy and are working to scale inclusive solutions that help create a healthier planet for all.

Rapid decarbonization across our business is our best chance to limit the worst impacts of climate change, which is critical to sustain healthy and equitable communities we are a part of.

Today, we are sharing our progress on our climate commitments in Our Path to Net Zero, which outlines how we are building on our foundation of operating sustainably to accelerate decarbonization across our business in the coming years.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions across our global operations and value chain is our top priority and the most effective strategy to reach net zero across our value chain in 2030.

Our science-aligned emissions reduction target is in line with what is necessary to transition to a zero-carbon future. By the end of 2031, we aim to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% and not exceed our 2021 Scope 3 emissions. We will achieve this goal by continuing to prioritize efficiency and circularity in our business decisions and embracing low-carbon technology to operate with a lower emissions footprint. In parallel, we are partnering with our suppliers to identify actions to decarbonize, including switching to renewable energy, increasing efficiency, and engaging their suppliers. We will engage with at least two-thirds of our suppliers to set emissions reduction targets by 2026.

Photo courtesy of Western Rivers Conservancy

For those emissions that remain difficult to reduce by the end of this decade, we will remove an equivalent amount of emissions through carbon removal projects. This includes our support of nature-based solutions that can be deployed now as well as emerging technologies that need our support to scale. We select these projects with the highest standards and work to develop the voluntary carbon market to encourage projects that result in positive local impacts for communities and the environment.

As we decarbonize our business, we are committed to transparency and accountability along the way. We know our path to net zero will have its obstacles, and our program must adapt to identify the most impactful climate solutions that follow the latest science to guide us to a sustainable future.

This report provides details about how we are systemically transforming how we design our infrastructure and products, conduct our operations and partner with our suppliers to decarbonize all aspects of our business. We are designing solutions with scalability and impact in mind to maintain net zero beyond 2030—and helping other businesses do the same.

Our Path to Net Zero offers a look at how we aim to transform our ambitious net zero emissions target into actionable steps to get there, and we hope it can be used as a resource for other companies taking action on climate.


You can learn more about Meta’s sustainability work in our latest sustainability report, and to continue to follow along with us on our path to net zero, visit sustainability.fb.com.

News

Get the latest news about our sustainability work, download reports and resources and explore our energy dashboards.

Up close view of a wind turbine with light blue sky and clouds in background
Climate

Joining the ZEROgrid initiative

We’re proud to partner with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and other leading companies to broaden the scope of that ambition to help create the clean, reliable, and affordable grid of the future.

July 18, 2023
offshore wind farm
Climate triple pundit

Net Zero Goals: Moving from Why to How to Now

In 2020, Meta achieved net zero greenhouse gas emissions for our global operations and today, we are supported by 100 percent renewable energy. These are good first steps, but we have so, so much work still to do to become a fully sustainable company.

February 2, 2023

2023 Sustainability Report

We envision a just and equitable transition to a zero-carbon economy and are working to scale inclusive solutions that help create a healthier planet for all.

We’ve seen the impact corporate renewable energy commitments have had in adding clean energy to the grid, and we’re proud to partner with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and other leading companies to broaden the scope of that ambition to help create the clean, reliable, and affordable grid of the future. This new effort, the Zero Emissions, Reliability Optimized Grid or ZEROgrid, is focused on building a comprehensive, collaborative new framework to better harness the efforts of the voluntary sustainability market. The initiative is intended to maximize grid reliability and emissions reduction by driving more impactful clean energy procurement, and also increased corporate engagement on policy, investment, R&D and operations.

Since 2020, Meta’s operations have been supported with 100% renewable energy, in part through our efforts to bring new renewable projects to the grid. The ZEROgrid coalition will develop a roadmap and action plan to foster increased corporate climate investments that maximize the potential for moving to​ ​a truly ZERO emissions grid. In addition to our 100% renewable energy target, Meta’s goal is to achieve net zero emissions across our value chain in 2030. ZEROgrid is focused on making corporate purchases of clean energy more impactful, and on growing corporate engagement beyond purchases of clean energy, to include other supporting activities that will help drive further impact.

News

Get the latest news about our sustainability work, download reports and case studies and explore our energy dashboards.

News

New Meta Sustainability Account Launches on Instagram

Meta Sustainability has launched on Instagram at @MetaSustainability. The account spotlights shareable research and Reels from Meta and its partners, while also featuring climate creator content.

April 25, 2023
Aerial photo from flying drone of a land with sowing young trees among the huge forest and a plowed field. Photo by drone
Climate Meta Research

Every tree counts

The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and associated climate change has had a dramatic impact on the Earth’s biosphere, ranging from drought and wildfires to the loss of biodiversity. Forests play a central role in the carbon dioxide cycle, pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing the carbon in their biomass.

April 18, 2023
Energy

What Makes a Data Center Sustainable?

Data centers enable everything we do online, from powering the internet to making digital communication and connection possible. But what does it really mean for a data center to be sustainable?

April 17, 2023

2023 Sustainability Report

We envision a just and equitable transition to a zero-carbon economy and are working to scale inclusive solutions that help create a healthier planet for all.

News

Get the latest news about our sustainability work, download reports and case studies and explore our energy dashboards.

Energy

What Makes a Data Center Sustainable?

Data centers enable everything we do online, from powering the internet to making digital communication and connection possible. But what does it really mean for a data center to be sustainable?

April 17, 2023
News

New Meta Sustainability Account Launches on Instagram

Meta Sustainability has launched on Instagram at @MetaSustainability. The account spotlights shareable research and Reels from Meta and its partners, while also featuring climate creator content.

April 25, 2023

2023 Sustainability Report

We envision a just and equitable transition to a zero-carbon economy and are working to scale inclusive solutions that help create a healthier planet for all.

Each year, 660 million tons of construction waste goes to landfills or incinerators in the U.S. alone. Indeed, with each new data center, Meta sends tons of drywall debris to the trash since most local facilities do not have systems in place to recycle or recover drywall.

We wanted to do better so in 2022 we began working with Mycocycle, an innovative technology company in the zero-waste market, to pilot a new project at our data center in Gallatin, TN. The idea: train mushrooms to eat trash and turn drywall debris into a fully circular product that reduces waste and returns drywall to our data center buildings as newly manufactured building products. 

Today our team is working closely with large building manufacturers to further test the approach and illustrate how Meta’s potential buying power can substantially influence the production of new sustainable building materials.  

By prioritizing material circularity and zero waste this program aligns with Meta’s goal to reach net zero emissions across our value chain in 2030.

News

Get the latest news about our sustainability work, download reports and case studies and explore our energy dashboards.

Biodiversity triple pundit

Birds and Bees: Bringing Biodiversity Into the Workplace

As companies look to act on climate change, many overlook a crucial and impactful area of focus: preserving biodiversity. Protecting and restoring habitats is vital for restricting emissions and driving climate adaptation.

March 30, 2023

2023 Sustainability Report

We envision a just and equitable transition to a zero-carbon economy and are working to scale inclusive solutions that help create a healthier planet for all.

As the two generations that will be most impacted by the effects of climate change, Gen Z and Generation Alpha are bringing fresh passion and creativity to the climate fight. 

To support and empower these emerging voices, The World Around, a nonprofit architecture forum, has created the Young Climate Prize, sponsored by Meta Open Arts. For its inaugural program, a cohort of 25 finalists, ages 13 to 25, were chosen to be paired with a The World Around’s Design Champion for one-on-one mentorship to help further their projects. 

From this group, three winners (and one honorable mention) will be feted at The World Around Earth Day Summit 2023, to be held on Earth Day (April 22) at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. The winners are:

Young Climate Voice

Pamela Elizarrarás Acitores, Mexico

View this profile on Instagram

Climate Words (@climatewords) • Instagram photos and videos

Young Climate Designer

David Foday Kamara, Sierra Leone

View this profile on Instagram

Foday David Kamara (@fitzdave_hc080) • Instagram photos and videos

Young Climate Visionary

Namra Khalid, Pakistan

View this profile on Instagram

Karachi Cartography (@karachicartography) • Instagram photos and videos

Honorable Mention

Aziba Ekio, Nigeria

View this profile on Instagram

Dear Society (@ekioaziba) • Instagram photos and videos

Participant projects were chosen to represent today’s climate landscape across five broad themes:

  • Words Matter: Projects amplifying the voices of those whose stories are key to the climate conversation, yet are often ignored.
  • Creating Connections: Young people seeing into the future of community building.
  • Innovators & Investors: Engineers, architects, designers exploring new ways to approach the changing landscape.
  • All About Waste: Researchers and innovators sharing their solutions to help solve one of the growing climate challenges of today.
  • Radical Reuse: Projects examining how the management of materials from the beginning of their lifespan to their eventual decay are vital to combat climate change.

“Meta Open Arts is pleased to partner with The World Around on the inaugural Young Climate Prize. This program celebrates the power of community-building through creativity and brings critical attention to emerging climate voices of today and their visions for the future.”

Tina Vaz, Head of Open Arts, Meta

Meet The Finalists

Words Matter
  • Alfonse Chiu, 24, Singapore
    Researcher examining neocolonial flows of tropical fruits
  • Aziba Ekio, 24, Nigeria
    Poet working on a collection of writings called “The Color Green”
  • Pamela Elizarrarás Acitores, 24, Mexico
    Photographer and writer creating an ongoing lexicon about climate change
  • Mangaliso Ngcobo and Sam Harding, 22, South Africa
    Writers and editors from South Africa who founded their own magazine
  • Nastia Volynova, 24, Russia
    Researcher examining changes in forms of labor due to climate change
  • Aida Namukose, 23, Uganda
    Photographer documenting women in the food industry affected by climate change
Creating Connections
  • Marilita Quintana Molina, 24, Chilé
    Artist and climate advocate collecting plastic waste in her region and seeking to use it to improve her community
  • Shariffa Amolo Anguria, 25, Kenya
    Activist and community leader educating on the negative impacts of traditional gold mining
  • Raihan Rabbannee Hendrawan, 17, Indonesia
    Facilitator committed to engaging young people in the fight against climate change
  • Sophia Tabibian and Lulu Goulet-Hofsass, 14, USA
    Community leaders who founded an online climate hub for global activists
  • Sahithi Radha, 15, India
    Student and activist pioneering an e-waste collection and recycling initiative
  • Hannah Segerkranz, 25, Estonia
    Product designer championing the use of hemp as an eco-friendly building material through an open source design
Innovators & Inventions 
  • Jin Gao, 25, China
    Researcher and maker focusing on the survival of bees in volatile climate conditions
  • David Andrés Vega Monsalve, 23, Colombia
    Digital artist using VR to raise awareness about the effects of recent flooding in Pakistán.
  • Ichor Joshua Keghnen, 22, Nigeria
    Mechanical engineer who created a device to monitor pollution in boreholes and water wells.
  • Chris Vrettos, 26,  Greece
    Clean energy advocate championing the nation’s first all-solar community.
  • Esther Olalude, 20, Nigeria
    An inventor creating affordable sanitary towels from recycled waste.
All About Water
  • Namra Khalid, 25, Pakistan
    Researcher producing the region´s first socio-climatic map to facilitate addressing floods in Karachi.
  • Anushuka Shahdadpuri, 26, India
    A designer working on a network of ways to accelerate clean water.
  • Joseph Nguthiru, 24, Kenya
    A chemist who invented a biodegradable plastic made from water hyacinth.
Radical Reuse
  • Gabriela Angelina Bernal Ibáñez, 19, Mexico
    An architect and engineer whose research into recycled panels is on trial in Mexico
  • Foday David Kamara, 23, Rwanda
    An entrepreneur whose Ecovironment project is recycling post-consumer plastic waste into everyday construction materials like eco-bricks and paving tiles
  • Moemen Sobh, 22, Egypt
    An architect pioneering new materials, including Visenleer, a fish-skin leather that makes use of bi-product and allows fishermen to make more money per fish sold
  • Mohammed Dimma Mawejje, 22, Uganda
    A social entrepreneur using textile waste like fabric offcuts and second-hand clothes to create bags, earrings, dresses, and other fashion merchandise 
  • Stanley Anigbogu, 23, Nigeria
    A designer providing access to clean light and energy alternatives for students and refugees in his region

“The World Around is committed to focusing on what is happening now and how it can change the future. This group of inspiring young activists, inventors, entrepreneurs, writers and poets have shown us where the world’s attention should focus. Their generation has a vested interest in finding solutions to our biggest challenges.” — Beatrice Galilee, director, The World Around

To learn more about The World Around, follow them on Instagram. Follow Meta Open Arts at fb.com/metaopenarts and @MetaOpenArts on Instagram.

News

Get the latest news about our sustainability work, download reports and case studies and explore our energy dashboards.

Japanese father and preschool daughter paddling a kayak together in mangrove swamp, Iriomote Ishigaki National Park of the Yaeyama Islands, Okinawa, Japan
Water

What Does it Mean to Be ‘Water Positive’?

We are proud to join the UN CEO Water Mandate and Water Resilience Coalition, a cross-sector initiative to foster collective impact in priority water basins.

March 15, 2023
Contractors lay low carbon concrete at Meta data center
News Triple pundit

How to Grow a Sustainability Pilot Into Reality at Scale

Meta data centers are among the most advanced, energy-efficient in the world. Despite their enormous footprint, however, these structures are designed with the respect of our land, our communities, and our people in mind by incorporating design and construction strategies that conserve energy and water, eliminate waste, and responsibly source materials.

March 7, 2023

2023 Sustainability Report

We envision a just and equitable transition to a zero-carbon economy and are working to scale inclusive solutions that help create a healthier planet for all.

Climate change is too great of a challenge for any of us to solve on our own. At Meta, we know that in order to affect climate change on a global scale, collectively meet the 1.5°C target goal set by the Paris Agreement, and reach our own organization goals of achieving net zero emissions across our value chain and becoming water positive by 2030, we need to enlist some of the boldest and brightest minds working across all industries to act and develop solutions for a more sustainable world. 

That’s why we offer grants and scholarships to support sustainability innovation around the world. Here, we share updates from two recent grant recipients to see how the contributions are helping to facilitate growth and impact for each organization — and their community. 

Oregon’s Crooked River Watershed Council and Deschutes Land Trust

In 2022, Meta awarded a $75,000 sustainability grant to the Crooked River Watershed Council and Deschutes Land Trust to support two community-driven conservation projects, including restoring local habitats and securing wider community access at Prineville, Oregon’s Ochoco Preserve and building a passage for salmon and steelhead in Ochoco Creek. 

Since then, the Ochoco Nature Preserve project has excavated soil, replaced a bridge and buried large wood for habitat complexity and structure, among other improvements. And once the weather warms, trees, shrubs and grass planting will begin. (These efforts build on earlier work along McKay Creek on the Ochoco Preserve designed to increase floodplain connectivity, restore riparian conditions, and improve channel complexity.) 

Restoring local habitats and securing wider community access at Prineville, Oregon’s Ochoco Preserve.

Phase two of the Ochoco Nature Preserve project is slated for completion in spring 2024. The largest and most costly phase of the restoration will create nearly 40 acres of new floodplains, including nearly a mile of new Ochoco Creek baseflow channel, about 0.6 miles of new Crooked River baseflow channel and about 5 acres of new wetlands. More than 50 acres of uplands will be crafted from excavated earth and all disturbed areas will be seeded and planted with over 100,000 native, zone-appropriate plants. 

Once complete, the new Ochoco Preserve floodplain and wetlands will provide public access footbridges, trails and interpretive sites while also helping to decrease the risk of flood damage to downstream landowners and improving water quality.

The University of Maryland’s School of Public Health’s Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health

Environmental justice calls for ensuring representation, inclusion, and protection of the rights of those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, meaning climate solutions must promote equity, ensure access to basic resources, and guarantee that all people can live, learn and work in healthy and clean environments.

In 2022, Meta donated $1.75 Million to the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health’s Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health (CEEJH) to help advance that vision.

Founded in 2011 by Dr. Sacoby Wilson, a professor at the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the University of Maryland, CEEJH’s work includes the development and participation in partnerships with community-based organizations, environmental advocacy groups, health practitioners and policymakers to reduce local contamination, improve environmental quality, and enhance community health and sustainability.

Meta’s grant supports a new paid internship program as well as new staff hires and support for the annual University of Maryland Symposium on Environmental Justice and Health Disparities, which brings together community organizers, policymakers and environmental health experts using innovative policy, legal and public health tools to address pressing environmental justice issues and help communities advocate for themselves.

Over the summer, 19 students participated in a 10-week virtual internship program led by Dr. Wilson. Their work focused on air quality and water safety among other environmental health concerns, as well as skill-building workshops on topics ranging from geographic information system mapping to statistical analysis. The program will reconvene this summer.

Learn more about The University of Maryland’s School of Public Health’s Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health’s Environmental Justice internship here

News

Get the latest news about our sustainability work, download reports and case studies and explore our energy dashboards.

Japanese father and preschool daughter paddling a kayak together in mangrove swamp, Iriomote Ishigaki National Park of the Yaeyama Islands, Okinawa, Japan
Water

What Does it Mean to Be ‘Water Positive’?

We are proud to join the UN CEO Water Mandate and Water Resilience Coalition, a cross-sector initiative to foster collective impact in priority water basins.

March 15, 2023
Contractors lay low carbon concrete at Meta data center
News Triple pundit

How to Grow a Sustainability Pilot Into Reality at Scale

Meta data centers are among the most advanced, energy-efficient in the world. Despite their enormous footprint, however, these structures are designed with the respect of our land, our communities, and our people in mind by incorporating design and construction strategies that conserve energy and water, eliminate waste, and responsibly source materials.

March 7, 2023

2023 Sustainability Report

We envision a just and equitable transition to a zero-carbon economy and are working to scale inclusive solutions that help create a healthier planet for all.

News

Get the latest news about our sustainability work, download reports and case studies and explore our energy dashboards.

wind energy farm - renewable energy
Energy triple pundit

How Meta Sources 100 Percent Renewable Energy Around the World

Back in 2011, Facebook set an ambitious target to meet 100 percent of its energy needs with renewable sources. It took 10 years to build the infrastructure and programs, but in 2020, the company now known as Meta crossed the finish line.

February 7, 2023
offshore wind farm
Climate triple pundit

Net Zero Goals: Moving from Why to How to Now

In 2020, Meta achieved net zero greenhouse gas emissions for our global operations and today, we are supported by 100 percent renewable energy. These are good first steps, but we have so, so much work still to do to become a fully sustainable company.

February 2, 2023

2023 Sustainability Report

We envision a just and equitable transition to a zero-carbon economy and are working to scale inclusive solutions that help create a healthier planet for all.

To help personalize content, tailor and measure ads and provide a safer experience, we use cookies. By clicking or navigating the site, you agree to allow our collection of information on and off Meta through cookies. Learn more, including about available controls: Cookie Policy