Over the last two weeks, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UN COP26) highlighted the urgent need to address climate change. They called on nations and businesses to take concrete, united action to reduce potentially disastrous impacts to the environment and preserve our planet for future generations.
Fortinet supports the movement for global environmental action, and we are very pleased to report that in support of these efforts we publicly announced today our commitment to carbon neutrality by 2030. This target is relative to our Scope 1 and 2 emissions resulting from our owned facilities worldwide, in alignment with the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi).
Fortinet’s Effort to Mitigate Climate Change
As part of our effort to mitigate climate change through environmental management, we are committing to:
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Investing in energy efficiency projects. Our flagship project is the opening of our brand-new headquarters campus in Sunnyvale, California. This building has been designed according to the most advanced green standards, resulting in 30% less energy use than a standard building and the conservation of 76,600 gallons of water annually. The campus includes multiple energy efficiency measures, including radiant cooling, onsite solar-powered EV Charging Stations, preferred parking spaces for sustainable energy vehicles, and installed bike racks. It also benefits from a multi-million-dollar investment in a major solar panel install on our parking garage that will not only make the Fortinet HQ fully energy self-sufficient but will also generate enough additional power to offset much of the energy consumption of our other facilities in North America.
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Ensuring all new sites only use only 100% renewable electricity and that new constructions meet LEED/BREEAM or other green building certifications. Our new headquarters campus in Sunnyvale is on track to achieve LEED-Gold certification. For existing facilities, renewable energy investments will be spread across Green Power Purchases, Renewable Energy Credits, and owned, on-site solar.
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Measuring and reporting on our carbon footprint: Fortinet has measured its Scope 1 and 2 emissions for the last two years and will capture the inventory of its Scope 3 emissions in 2022. This information will be disclosed in Fortinet’s first sustainability report to be published by mid-2022. We will also participate in CDP reporting next year for greater disclosure on our environmental impacts.
To ensure we seriously pursue and progress the initiatives mentioned here, and that we are on the right path for environmental sustainability, we have in place the highest level of governance provided through the oversight of the Social Responsibility Committee of our Board of Directors. This Committee oversees Fortinet’s objectives, strategy, and risks relating to sustainability and corporate social responsibility, and is also responsible for reviewing and assessing ongoing execution in light of those objectives.
Minimizing our environmental footprint is not a new focus for Fortinet, though. It has always been integral to Fortinet’s DNA and an important issue for our founders—not just at an operational level but also from a technology standpoint. For more than 20 years, Fortinet has combined innovation with environmental sustainability to develop products that use less energy (and subsequently less carbon emissions) at customer sites. By creating the industry’s only security-focused processors, Fortinet has been able to integrate multiple security and networking functions into a single, highly energy-efficient platform. As a result of this innovation—the only such technology in the entire cybersecurity industry—Fortinet produces the world’s most energy-efficient security appliances, helping our customers and partners reduce their environmental footprint. These advanced security solutions consume as much as 3X fewer resources than traditional appliances while delivering up to 15X more performance. This helps lower the ecological impact of networks, including data centers, which consume around 2% of all energy worldwide. And we are committed to remaining a leader in innovation and low energy use.
Fortinet is committed to a sustainable environment, and we have made the environmental impact of our products a priority issue from a Corporate Social Responsibility standpoint. We realize we are at the beginning of this journey, but with these efforts, and the continued engagement of our employees, suppliers, and channel partners, we’re confident we can quickly make progress in contributing to a low-carbon future.
Learn more about Fortinet’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.
