Progressive companies in the Silicon Valley, with internet behemoth Google leading the way, are marrying their understanding of technology with their concern for the economy and the environment. VerdeXchange recently spoke with Google’s Director of Corporate Environmental Programs Robyn Beavers about Google’s initiatives to transform its campus into a greener workplace and the future model of corporate environmentalism.
Share Google’s sustainability strategy. How does “green” mesh with the company’s core business mission?
As the head of corporate environmental programs for Google, we partner with different teams within the company and work with them to develop and implement green programs. We are systemically trying to mesh business strategy with green strategy.
Right now we are standing in front of the solar installation that Google, which is nearly completed. The Corporate Environmental Programs team partnered with our real estate and facilities team.
Our green and sustainability objectives are clearly understood by considering our investment in solar. We will be producing clean electricity when we flip the switch this spring, and that solar
power will save us a lot of money because we won’t have to purchase grid electricity during peak hours. Moreover, eventually this solar investment will become profitable for us—we will be making money off of our green power systems.
Climate change and thinking “green” are obviously very au courant, but you are not in the P.R. or in the investment relations department at Google. Where exactly do you fit in the company in terms of influence, respect, and responsibility?
I’m located within Business Operations, which is our internal strategy group. I follow the same model as them: they partner with different departments to work on strategic projects. I do that with a specifically green focus. I also work closely with our two co-founders and the CEO.
You’re a pathfinder in your job at Google. How many people like you—corporate managers of sustainability—are there in corporate America? In Silicon Valley?
I think there are more of us every day. I noticed that Yahoo has a job description out for someone like me. Most of the Bay Area companies have either hired someone new or slipped someone over into a similar title. I think that number will grow.
As your job evolves, what will your title likely become by 2010?
Almost like “Green Ninja” or something! In my job now I’ve been dealing with anything from solar panels on the building to composting in the café, and we’ve had to be open to any request that comes our way. It involves employee outreach—eventually it’s going to have to be a large team, not just a job.
Are other Silicon Valley tech companies as committed to sustainability as Google? Have they employed managers with similar skill sets and missions?
I think my peers are typically situated in the PR or investor relations departments in their companies, because “green” is being approached as image control as opposed to a functional, operational operations. I think as more sustainable projects, such as our solar project, energy-efficiency programs, and investments in other green fuels become more “real” and operational, other corporations will realize that they need to move beyond just image control by implementing real results, as opposed to just communicating their goals.
Describe Google’s corporate campus solar project. What’s its ambition? How will you measure its success?
We have installed 1.6 megawatts of solar panels—that’s 9,212 solar modules over eight rooftops and two parking structures with carports on top. We anticipate that it will offset roughly 30 percent of our peak electricity demand. We’ll see how well that works when we flip a switch and are able to monitor the system’s performance in real time, later this Spring.
What factors enabled you to convince Google that it should invest in and go forward with this solar project?
It helps that before I proposed this project, I applied for financial rebates from our utility and procured a significant amount and had it when I walked in the room. That return on investment made it easy for the executives to say yes. But I must also emphasize that our CEO told me on more than one occasion that I don’t make his job hard enough because I keep giving him easy choices. When you look at the long-term benefit of solar or any other type of on-site generation, it is becoming clearer that such investments actually have a pay back; you make money off of it.
How did you go about procuring the rebate from your local utility?
We use Pacific Gas & Electric, and at the time they had a self-generation incentive program, which is funded by the public goods charge, a tax that every PG&E customer pays on their electricity bill. Anyone else could have done the same thing—and many do. I had to fill out applications by first designing the system myself after doing a few back-of-the-envelope calculations.
Silicon Valley companies have not been noted for developing close government relationships. How important are relations with utilities and local government?
PG&E is an interesting case study. When we applied for our rebate, the rebates were a dollar amount per installed watt. There’s not a lot of quality control in that because you could have installed your panels upside-down and still received the money. In 2007 they switched to a performance-based incentive, which pays per generated kilowatt-hour, so that will lead to better quality control in the whole industry.
Yet, we’re proud of our design. We used the best professionals in the business. Plus, regardless of the rebates from the utility, we still had to work with the local government to get building permits typical for any building improvement project.
To be honest, we had to educate our local government a little, which slightly delayed the project. There were concerns that it was going to look ugly, that it was going to damage the real estate value—when in fact it would be the exact opposite in both cases, a point which we all agree on now. I’ve recommended to peers that they get started right away with their permitting agencies and understand what it entails.
You studied civil engineering at Stanford. Was sustainability part of the university’s engineering curriculum?
It wasn’t while I was there; but my peers and I made it part of the curriculum. A lot of our classes required design projects where we went out to real construction projects in the area and did a joint project with the local contractor or civil engineers, and it was just about when green building was becoming more popular. But now Sanford’s civil engineering department has been revamped, and it offers a green building curriculum as a significant part. Students are working on a green dorm project, and they’ve had top-notch speakers coming in all the time. It’s an exciting time there.
What’s next for you and Google, now that you are weeks away from flipping the switch on one of the largest solar roof projects in the country?
We’re canvassing everywhere outside of Mountain View and trying to figure out where the next big opportunity is. For instance, Spain and Germany have emerged as the frontrunners in large-scale renewable power installation. India has the third-largest number of LEED-certified buildings, behind the U.S. and Canada. There are probably opportunities everywhere, and the more we uncover, the more excited we get.
Google’s solar project has required that you to work with many architecture and construction firms. Is green a priority for these firms?
I think more and more architects are trying to position themselves as green architects. They do that by bragging about the number of LEED-accredited professionals they have. LEED is driving a lot of the architectural movement. The solar industry is interesting to watch because right now there is a lot of little guys and a couple big guys, and I think the big guys will only get bigger as they tackle the worldwide scale, rather than state-by-state or region-by-region, which is what it’s been up to this point. The green design and construction industry will only continue to grow over the next few years.
You went to India recently to investigate cutting-edge sustainable projects. How did you choose what to see? What words did you use to Google for leads?
We obviously did research before we left; and we cold-called a lot of companies. We found out who did big installations and found out who’s manufacturing what.
I Googled words like “India,” “solar,” “photovoltaic,” “installations,” “renewable energy incentives,” and I looked up some of the big names, like BP Solar; for wind, there’s GE or Siemens—all the big names—and just see if they have partnerships in the countries you’re going to and see if they’ll give you the time of day. Luckily, with Google they usually do.
Is there a readily available marketplace for learning about and securing sustainable commercial expertise?
The Bay Area has a lot of events, channels, and opportunities to meet other people who are thinking about the same things. The New York Times has been publishing some amazing profiles of new technologies and the issues facing a lot of us. There are various newsletters I like, including Daily Grist. I also call up new tech companies I hear about. A lot of them are located in Silicon Valley, so I can just run down the street and check them out.
What are emerging as the most effective governmental incentives for inducing companies to invest in sustainability for their offices and plants?
I think the environmental incentive programs in Europe are good examples. As an independent electricity producer you feed into the grid, and you get paid well for every kilowatt-hour you produce. It has really driven markets, for instance, in Germany it used to be that everyone worked for the car industry, and now half the people are working in renewable energy. I think that’s a remarkable case study for anyone who is worried about jobs and the economy. It all comes back in terms of increase in jobs, environmental health, personal health—it all trickles down. It’s worth investing in it right now because it’s really hot and it’ll be too late if you wait too long.