Western Digital aims to reduce carbon emissions by 42%

Western Digital announces it has officially joined the Science Based Targets (SBTi) initiative, which verified the adherence of its reduction objectives of greenhouse gas emissions with the Paris Agreement and SBTi requirements. The science-based objectives envisage a reduction in emissions based on the latest indications from climate science to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

Western Digital: the company’s point of view

“The commitment to achieve these ambitious science-based goals is a must to the planet, society, our customers and employees. The next few years are critical, and companies play a vital role in fostering the achievement of a significant transformation in terms of time and size “, ha dichiarato Joshua Parker, senior director, Corporate Sustainability, Western Digital. “We are already making rapid progress to reduce ours
emissions, demonstrating our commitment to building a sustainable economy ”.

The SBT initiative offers organizations two levels of objectives on their journey towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions: a first basic commitment which consists in limiting the global warming to less than 2 ° C above pre-industrial levels and a second more ambitious commitment that instead requires limiting global warming to 1.5 ° C, also in line with the indications contained in the Paris climate agreement.

Objective: 1.5 ° C

“We congratulate Western Digital for setting science-based climate targets consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 ° C, the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement,” commented Alberto Carrillo Pineda, Managing Director, Science Based Targets of CDP, one of the partners of the Science Based Targets initiative. “By setting these important goals, Western Digital is making its contribution to preventing the most damaging effects of
climate change “.

In line with its objectives, Western Digital is committed to reducing its emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 42% by 2030, taking 2020 as the base year. The company is also adopting a Scope 3 objective to reduce emissions intensity of its products by 50% by 2030.

The 5 steps to get to hit the target

To achieve these goals, the US factory will focus primarily on energy reduction through greater operational efficiency, the adoption of on-site solar energy and the direct purchase of renewable energy.

The company is making progress in several areas:
● Since mid-2021, the company’s headquarters, located in Northern California, have operated using the
100% renewable energy;
● Western Digital purchased 100% renewable energy for its headquarters in
Shenzhen and is exploring alternatives for other locations globally;
● Western Digital uses on-site solar power at multiple facilities around the world;
● From 2019 to 2020, Western Digital reduced the energy intensity of its products by
25%;
● from 2019 to 2020, Western Digital reduced emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by more than 8%.