Equinix employees care that our environmental sustainability work is reflected in the facilities they see and occupy every day. We are committed to cultivating their passion and developing a culture and workplaces that foster sustainability through design, education and engagement.
Global Design Guidelines
During 2020, Equinix rolled out new global design guidelines for our office spaces incorporating sustainability as a key requirement. The guidelines contain global design and construction standards which reimagine the efficient use of space and integrate closely with our Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) approach.
This work builds on existing efforts to improve resource efficiency in our office spaces, such as:
- Tracking electricity consumption of our offices globally,
- Incorporating sustainability requirements into our leasing and building operations process,
- Achieving USGBC LEED Green Building Certifications, such as our LEED Gold corporate headquarters in Redwood City, California,
- Diverting waste through composting, recycling and donating retired computing equipment to nonprofits addressing what is known as the Digital Divide,
- Reducing waste by providing water and innovative beverage stations to eliminate single-use plastic bottles and expanding the use of Wi-Fi instead of wired cabling, and
- Considering responsible use of energy by completing LED lighting retrofits and using energy-efficient appliances.
Here are a few examples of how our team has advanced environmental sustainability within our offices worldwide:
Increasing Employee Awareness
We want to empower our employees to support our sustainability efforts. With their buy-in and engagement, we can maximize our positive impact. To embed a culture of sustainability within the organization, in 2020 we implemented training modules on sustainability topics foundational to Equinix’s work, such as understanding climate change, net zero buildings and the benefits of measuring and reporting environmental impacts. The deployment of these on-demand e-learning modules will help employees connect their daily activities with global environmental challenges.
We are also leveraging new local employee engagement mechanisms to promote education and action on environmental sustainability by our employees and in our communities. “Green” is one of six themes of our WeAreEquinix local groups.
Engaging for the Environment
In a year interrupted by COVID-19, Equinix employees had to pivot from traditional in-person to virtual engagement. We’re proud that enthusiasm remained high; the approach simply shifted as volunteering gave way to giving. Our employees raised the bar on giving, with many choosing to use their allocated matched funds toward environmental causes. For Earth Day 2020, we invited employees to take part in a virtual scavenger hunt as a fun way to learn about our sustainability efforts and celebrate the environment. Winners were offered charitable gift cards to be used for donations through our Equinix Impact Exchange. We also offered interactive employee-led sessions on environmental impacts including home gardening. A summary of environmental-related donations is below.
| SDG # | SDG Category | Volunteer Hours 2020 | Volunteer Hours 2015-2020 | Donations 2020 | Donations 2015-2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Clean Water and Sanitation | 3 | 26 | $724 | $24,307 |
| 11 | Sustainable Cities and Communities | 1391 | 11,795 | $679,450 | $1,628,546 |
| 15 | Life on Land | 261 | 3453 | $69,995 | $209,835 |
Of the 2020 donations about $31,000 was donated to environmental causes dedicated to conservation, beautification and environmental protection including to well-known NGOs such as the Nature Conservancy.