Source URL: https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/sustainability/google-cloud-measures-its-climate-impact-through-life-cycle-assessment/
Source: Cloud Blog
Title: How Google Cloud measures its climate impact through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Feedly Summary: As AI creates opportunities for business growth and societal benefits, we’re working to reduce their carbon intensity through efforts like optimizing software, improving hardware efficiency, and supporting our operations with carbon-free energy.
At Google, we’re committed to understanding the entirety of our environmental impact so we can apply the best, boldest, and most holistic solutions. In this post, we’ll talk through an assessment technique called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to understand the complete picture of carbon emissions.
Measuring environmental impact with Life Cycle Assessment
LCA is a process-analysis method for evaluating the environmental impact of a product-system or service throughout its entire life cycle. This includes everything from raw material extraction and processing, manufacturing, transportation, use, and end-of-life treatment (recycling, disposal, etc.). LCA enables us to measure emissions along every step of our hardware manufacturing, find the sources of those emissions, identify ways to reduce them, and track our progress towards global net-zero emissions.
The Google Cloud Carbon Footprinting team has developed a best-in-class LCA approach to evaluate the embodied carbon emissions associated with the supply chain of our data center hardware1, including AI/ML accelerators, compute machines, storage platforms, and networking equipment.
Figure 1. LCA stages and system boundary
The approach is consistent with global LCA standards, ISO 14040/14044, and is specifically tailored to Google Cloud’s data center technology portfolio and underlying manufacturing production processes. In addition, Google Cloud’s LCA methodology has been critically reviewed by Fraunhofer IZM, ensuring completeness, accuracy, and adherence to industry standards. This enables Google to accurately account for emissions that come from the manufacturing of various types of data center hardware, all the way down to the smallest components that compose the fleet.
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Driving the industry forward
By collaborating closely with our supply chain partners, academic leaders, and industry peers, we’re pioneering the development of highly configurable Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) models. This innovative approach empowers us to move beyond generic assessments, unlocking the potential for detailed, customized environmental insights for vital components like semiconductors, hard disk drives, PCBAs, and thermal management solutions.
To achieve unparalleled accuracy, Google Cloud is transforming LCA data collection by partnering directly with suppliers to gather primary data. This means capturing the direct flows (i.e., material and energy transactions with the natural environment) that occur throughout manufacturing. These custom LCIs are powerful tools, enabling us to precisely measure our environmental impact and accelerate our journey towards net-zero.
Figure 2. Process-level environmental transactions
In addition to driving accuracy, Google is driving standardization in the hardware industry by participating in a collaborative effort to develop consistent LCA guidelines. This initiative aims to create Product Category Rules (PCRs) that facilitate primary data collection and improve comparability across product assessments. By building on established ISO standards and aligning with GHG protocol and Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), this collaboration seeks to enhance the accuracy and transparency of environmental accounting efforts.
In a recent LCA study, we evaluated the environmental impact of our Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) throughout their entire lifespan. The introduction of a new metric, Compute Carbon Intensity (CCI), helped uncover findings showing that over two generations, more efficient TPU hardware design has led to a 3x improvement in the carbon-efficiency of AI workload. LCA studies like this are crucial for understanding and reducing the carbon footprint of hardware across the ecosystem.
Advancements in LCA
At Google, we believe that informed action is essential, and that requires a foundation of accurate measurement. Through our advancements in LCA and by fostering collaboration within the global community, we’re driving meaningful, measurable progress towards a more resilient future.
To learn more, visit these resources:
LCA methodology critical review statement by Fraunhofer IZM
Product Category Rules
TPU efficiency and lifecycle emissions
1. Upstream supply chain activities are also defined as cradle-to-gate or Scope 3
AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: This text discusses Google’s commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of its AI and data center hardware through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). By employing LCA methodologies, Google aims to provide detailed insights into the environmental impact of its products, specifically targeting emissions across their life cycle. This initiative reflects an innovative approach to align AI advancements with sustainability, making it relevant for professionals in both AI and cloud infrastructure security.
Detailed Description:
The text highlights Google’s strategy to leverage sustainability tools while building AI capabilities, particularly focusing on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to track and minimize carbon emissions associated with its AI hardware. Key points include:
– **Google’s Commitment to Sustainability**:
– The company is actively working to understand and mitigate its environmental impact, aiming for a carbon-free operational model.
– **Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)**:
– A systematic methodology for evaluating the environmental repercussions of a product from its inception to disposal.
– Google Cloud uses LCA to track carbon emissions throughout the hardware lifecycle, including sourcing, manufacturing, and end-of-life processes.
– Focuses on data center hardware like AI/ML accelerators and networking equipment.
– **Collaboration and Innovation**:
– Google collaborates with supply chain partners and academia to enhance the accuracy and customization of lifecycle inventory assessments.
– This includes gathering primary data directly from suppliers to fine-tune environmental assessments.
– **Development of Standardized Practices**:
– Google participates in initiatives to create Product Category Rules (PCRs) for more consistent and transparent environmental evaluations.
– Aligning with international standards (ISO 14040/14044) and the GHG protocol enhances the reliability of their assessments.
– **Case Study: Tensor Processing Units (TPUs)**:
– A recent evaluation indicates improvement in carbon efficiency, demonstrating a threefold enhancement in the carbon-efficiency of AI workloads over two generations.
– **Future Directions**:
– The company stresses continuous improvement in data measurement processes to foster resilience against climate change.
By addressing carbon emissions in AI and cloud infrastructure, this initiative has significant implications for compliance, governance, and sustainability practices, vital for professionals engaged in environmental and infrastructure security in the tech industry.