New Relic announces goal to reach net-zero GHG emissions by 2030

New Relic, the all-in-one observability platform for engineers, announced its goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and a commitment to set near-term science based GHG emissions targets.

The company's GHG emissions targets will be submitted to the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), joining the more than 2,200 companies worldwide that are leading the transition to a net-zero economy through emissions targets grounded in climate science.

According to the company, with this announcement, New Relic is the first observability company to set a net-zero emissions by 2030 goal and aims to inspire its peers in the industry to do their part in reducing global GHG emissions and building a resilient, zero-emissions economy.

By adhering to science-backed emissions targets, the business states it will be well-positioned for long-term growth and competitive differentiation in the market, while doing its part to slow climate change and pave the path toward decarbonisation.

New Relic CEO Bill Staples, says, "We have spent the past three years transforming our product and business model. Establishing science-based climate goals is the right decision and next step as we continue to future-proof our business. This also allows us to evolve alongside our global customers who are making similar strides toward a net-zero future and consider it a must-have when choosing their technology providers."

New Relic Regional Vice President for Australia and New Zealand, Jason Leonidas, says, "New Relic's aim towards net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2030 underscores our commitment to driving positive social change through our technology and building a better world today for tomorrows generation. This is a step in the right direction, and we hope to contribute to Australia and New Zealand's national goal of a net-zero future by 2050 by tackling the climate crisis."

By selecting 2030 as the target, New Relic is allowing for work around achieving and maintaining its goals through operational reductions and high quality carbon removals.

This target aligns with guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), who warned that global warming must not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures by 2040 to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

Focus areas for reductions include the following:

• Vendor engagement on climate: Work with vendors across their operations to understand and reduce their emissions.
• Internal efficiencies and tracking: Continue to improve GHG emissions calculation with Watershed Climate to have a fine-grained understanding of the company's footprint worldwide.
• Reduced operational footprint: Continually assess the operational footprint and ensure climate is part of its business criteria when it comes to operations.
• Internal policy setting: Introduce and update internal policies across the business to ensure climate is a shared responsibility.

Recent emissions successes include:

• Purchased reforestation credits from Trees for Global Benefits in Uganda to remove 100% of the carbon dioxide associated with New Relic global offices natural gas usage.
• Purchased renewable energy certificates representing 100% clean energy for New Relic global offices and employee work from home (WFH) footprints. These included US Green-E certified renewable energy certificates from the Lindahl Wind Project and international energy attribute certificates from locally-sited projects aligned with New Relic's international footprint.

New Relic is taking additional steps as part of its broader, comprehensive climate strategy, the company states. This includes reviewing its GHG emissions inventory with Watershed Climate, developing a plan to reduce emissions for facilities and assets, setting incremental targets, and reporting on its progress.

New Relic is focused on improving the efficiency of its own cloud use and inspiring its customers, partners, and suppliers to do the same. New Relic has also contributed the Cloud Optimise app to the open source community to help organisations optimise cloud services, reduce costs, and improve the efficiency of their cloud usage.

The company released its inaugural ESG impact report in July 2022, which encompassed its approach to ESG. This includes making significant achievements in pay equity across race and gender, obtaining HITRUST certification to strengthen data security and privacy, measuring Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions, and providing more than $6.5 million in product and discounts to nonprofits and students to expand equitable access to technology.