Stop Google from Hiding its Impact on Water Scarcity as a “Trade Secret”

Our Goal

Our goal is to support As You Sow’s proposal to Alphabet, Google’s parent company, by launching a campaign that allows individuals to invest in a more sustainable future and hold Google accountable for its contribution to global water scarcity by voting at the company’s next shareholder meeting. The proposal requests that Google annually report quantitative water-related metrics by location, including data centres, and for each location, practices implemented to reduce climate-related water risk. A “win” would result in Google being required to issue those annual reports evaluating and disclosing the above-referenced quantitative water-related metrics by location, including for data centres, along with: any location-specific water reduction targets and annual progress in achieving them, location-specific risk assessments and water scarcity planning, any integration of water and company governance mechanisms, and any compensation incentives related to water use reductions. Under the SEC’s new guidance, Google should no longer be able to classify its water usage as a “trade secret” considering that straining local water supplies and contributing to water scarcity is a significant social policy issue that transcends the company’s ordinary business.

Why It’s Important

Climate change is expected to exacerbate water shortages globally. NASA, using an array of satellites, has observed a distinctive pattern of the wet land areas of the world getting wetter and the dry areas in between getting dryer, increasing regional droughts, and resulting in hotspots of groundwater depletion.

Increasing drought and water scarcity poses an outsize risk to Google, whose data centres require substantial amounts of water for cooling. Google will be affected by water scarcity in ways that may not seem obvious now – not only does the high-tech industry depend heavily on water, but also the food and beverage sector, power generation, mining, and pulp and paper all depend on water and are thus directly exposed to water scarcity; water is vital to industry whether it is used directly or indirectly for cooling or heating, transport, cleaning, and much more; and in addition to industrial needs, communities also have a high demand for household water. In light of these facts, Google faces risks due to competition for water resources by local communities, in addition to other companies or industries.