Akamai Announces New 2030 Sustainability Goals

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the world's most trusted solution for protecting and delivering digital experiences, today announced new goals for its global sustainability program. The Company's five new goals, expected to be reached by 2030, are focused on three areas: the Akamai intelligent edge platform, the communities in which it lives, works and operates, and its global supply chain.

1. 100% Renewably-sourced Energy
   Akamai will prioritize implementation and procurement of purchaser-caused renewable energy with a goal to power 100% of its global operations by 2030. This includes data centers, offices, Akamai's accelerated network program partners and any source of electricity that falls under scope one and two emissions¹. In the event that sufficient renewable energy supply is unavailable in the areas where Akamai has operations, the company expects to use attestable and traceable sources of renewable energy certificates to reach its goals.
   
   Today, 50% of Akamai's energy needs is met by renewable sources. This was partially achieved through investments in net-new grid-connected renewable energy projects, including wind farms in Texas and Illinois and a solar array in Virginia.
   
2. 50% More Energy-Efficient Platform
   The greatest energy consumption by Akamai is the operation of its powerful edge platform, comprising approximately 325,000 servers in more than 135 countries and nearly 1,435 networks around the world. Akamai engineering teams constantly work to develop hardware and software efficiencies that help reduce power, not only for the benefit of Akamai but for its customers as well. When partnering with Akamai, customers already benefit from a reduced carbon footprint by using a shared platform versus building their own in order to meet peak capacity needs. Today, the company is announcing a new goal of operating an Akamai platform that is 50% more energy-efficient as measured against current capacity totals.
   
3. 100% Platform Emissions Mitigation
   Creation of a net zero Akamai edge platform requires working with data center providers and landlords to provide attestable sources of renewable power equivalent to the Akamai footprint. When this is not possible, Akamai plans to look to reduce absolute emissions through the use of credible greenhouse gas offsets offered by accredited organizations like the American Carbon Registry, Climate Action Reserve or through new and emerging capture technology. The net zero emission target applies to both its scope one and two emissions.
   
4. Responsible Supply Chain Management
   Akamai expects its top suppliers to have environmental and social goals consistent with its own corporate goals. In order to facilitate this, Akamai will institute a new responsible supply chain program. The company will engage with its top suppliers to baseline and quantify scope three emissions with a goal towards a measurable reduction by 2030.
   
5. Global Expansion of 100% Electronic Waste Recycling Program
   Akamai plans to continue its goal to recycle 100% of electronic waste at the end of hardware useful life, according to e-Stewards standards. Over the next 10 years, the company will look to bring efficiency to the partner program by disposing of e-waste in its country of origin where feasible. All Akamai vendors must continue to commit to protecting Akamai's customers from data breach and remain in compliance with relevant laws in their region.

"Akamai believes that corporations share the responsibility to protect the earth's natural resources," said Nicole Fitzpatrick, deputy general counsel and chief ESG officer. "These 2030 goals reflect our commitment to this belief. Moreover, Akamai realizes that being environmentally conscious is not only the right thing to do, it also makes good business sense. These five steps are designed to minimize our carbon footprint while maximizing the benefits to Akamai."

This announcement is the second phase of Akamai's sustainability program. In 2015, the company set goals to reduce its emissions by 30%, power its edge platform with 50% renewable energy, and recycle 100% of e-waste all by the end of 2020. Each of those goals was met within the established five-year period. In those five years, the available capacity of Akamai's intelligent edge platform grew by more than 350%, yet it used ten times less energy per unit of capacity than it did in 2015.

Sustainability at Akamai

Akamai strives to take a leadership role in minimizing the environmental impact of information technology systems. The company's sustainability initiatives are designed to measure and mitigate the impact of its business operations while maximizing and enhancing the benefits of sustainable business practices. Sustainable programs focus on several key areas – prioritizing the procurement and use of renewable energy to power global operations, developing operational efficiencies for Akamai's intelligent platform, implementing strategies that help reduce emissions output and mitigating up and downstream impact across the supply chain lifecycle. #GreenwithAkamai

About Akamai

Akamai secures and delivers digital experiences for the world's largest companies. Akamai's intelligent edge platform surrounds everything, from the enterprise to the cloud, so customers and their businesses can be fast, smart, and secure. Top brands globally rely on Akamai to help them realize competitive advantage through agile solutions that extend the power of their multi-cloud architectures. Akamai keeps decisions, apps and experiences closer to users than anyone — and attacks and threats far away. Akamai's portfolio of edge security, web and mobile performance, enterprise access and video delivery solutions is supported by unmatched customer service, analytics and 24/7/365 monitoring. To learn why the world's top brands trust Akamai, visit www.akamai.com, blogs.akamai.com, or @Akamai on Twitter. You can find our global contact information at www.akamai.com/locations.

Akamai Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act

The release contains information about future expectations, plans and prospects of Akamai's management that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about achievement of articulated sustainability goals. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including, but not limited to, re-allocation of investment in a way that makes achievement of goals unfeasible, inability to source renewable energy on terms acceptable to us, technological barriers to efficiency initiatives, and other factors that are discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other documents periodically filed with the SEC.

¹ The Greenhouse Gas ("GHG") Protocol Corporate Standard classifies a company's GHG emissions into three 'scopes'. Scope one emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. Scope two emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy. Scope three (The Corporate Value Chain Standard) allows companies to assess their entire value chain emissions impact and identify where to focus reduction activities. These are emissions a company is responsible for outside of its own walls—from the goods it purchases to the disposal of the products it sells.

Contacts:

Gina Sorice
Media Relations
646-320-4107    
gsorice@akamai.com

Tom Barth
Investor Relations
617-274-7130
tbarth@akamai.com

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SOURCE Akamai Technologies, Inc.