SBN

Making Connections to Sustainable Action During a Pandemic

There is no question that this year has brought disruption to life as we know it. As the world around us is changing, our concept of normalcy does too. Now, more than ever, it is critical that Akamai continue business as usual, providing fast, intelligent, and secure experiences for our customers, but we also have the opportunity to do so much more. From the perspective of a sustainability professional, COVID-19 has allowed me time to reflect on the importance of investing in our planet today, tomorrow, and for the future.

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Akamai has a unique opportunity at the edge through the connections we make across the globe. Our intelligent platform has shown its ability to handle the challenges the world is facing. We have a global footprint accounting for over 280,000 servers in more than 4,100 locations worldwide, supporting thousands of customers. As we journey through this pandemic, there is no better time than now to recognize our connectedness. We all belong to the same Earth. We drink its water. We breathe its air. As we all continue to navigate this time of uncertainty, it’s time to seize the opportunity and take action for our planet.

Making connections by instituting lasting change is critical. Akamai recently participated in a variety of legislative efforts with the help of the Ceres BICEP Network, focused on supporting greener and healthier communities. The Regional Transportation & Climate Initiative is a unified effort of more than 100 companies looking to improve transportation and develop the clean energy economy. The Virginia Clean Economy Act helps scale cost-effective clean energy resources to put the state of Virginia on a path toward a 100% carbon-free electricity system by 2050. These types of efforts, building on and supporting environmental legislation, are an integral part of our sustainability efforts to showcase our commitment of working together to go above and beyond what we could do as a single corporate voice.

In addition to our work on legislation, we are also taking an innovative approach to making connections with our partners on the benefits of renewable energy. The Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA), in partnership with Akamai, has announced the creation of the LESsor Sustainable Energy Network (LESSEN). The first-of-its kind program provides meaningful, applicable educational training for real estate landlords and data center operators with an aim toward developing successful, sustainable energy strategies. LESSEN will build on the success of REBA’s Future of Internet Power (FoIP) initiative, which enabled a small group of large leading data centers to take action and implement principles to increase sustainability by addressing an industry lag among small- to mid-sized data centers. 

As I reflect on this time of complexity and uncertainty, it is clear that making connections for the future is pivotal to support our long-term business and ultimately improve the Earth. We will get through COVID-19 with you and be there along the way to support your business-critical needs. We aspire to emerge stronger, better, and ready to take on new challenges, developing opportunities that meet the needs of our customers, our employees, our communities, and our planet.

 To learn more about Akamai’s sustainability commitments, visit akamai.com/sustainability


*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from The Akamai Blog authored by Mike Mattera. Read the original post at: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheAkamaiBlog/~3/ycWrHsdZBa8/making-connections-to-sustainable-action-during-a-pandemic.html