n 2015, Oracle set aggressive goals for reducing emissions, waste, and energy and water use at its facilities worldwide, representing more than 25 million square feet of real estate. As 2020 draws to a close, the results of that work are now available and the company is ready to set new sustainability objectives for the next five years.
Oracle's 2020 goals focused on four key areas: reduce global CO2 emissions, shift to renewable energy sources, divert waste from landfills, and reduce the use of potable water. (See specific percentages below.) Oracle met-or surpassed-those first three goals in 2019, and is on track to achieve the water conservation goal by the end of 2020.
Moving forward, Oracle's 2025 goals include reducing absolute emissions by 26% compared with a 2015 baseline and reducing emissions per unit of energy consumed by 55%. The company already is making progress: It has cut total emissions by 20.5% and energy emissions intensity by 42.3% (compared with Oracle's initial 2015 target). These goals follow the Science Based Targets initiative's (SBTi) guidelines, which set emission levels in accordance with the Paris Agreement on climate change. Oracle is on track to reduce emissions according to the Paris Agreement's initial 2° warming scenario, but also align with the more recent, revised 1.5° scenario.