California to force big tech like Meta and Apple to disclose carbon emissions

A new Californian state law will require big tech corporations such as Apple and Meta to disclose their carbon emissions.

The law, approved on Monday and signed by governor Gavin Newsom, requires companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue to report their greenhouse gas emissions.

The governor hailed the new law as a step towards helping the environment: “This important policy, once again, demonstrates California’s continued leadership with bold responses to the climate crisis.”

Addressing concerns about the economic implications on firms, he explained: “The implementation deadlines in this bill are likely infeasible,” adding that he is “concerned about the overall financial impact of this bill on businesses”.

California hosts a number of multibillion-dollar companies, including big tech firms such as Alphabet, Meta, Intel, and HP, which all pull in more than $50 billion a year.

The US state recently passed a similar law requiring companies with more than half a billion dollars in annual revenue to report their climate-related financial risks, which Newsom also voiced concerns about with the cost to businesses.

The California Air Resources Board will need to put a system in place for reporting emissions by January 1, 2025, under the legislation.

Senator Elizabeth Warren praised the new law, saying that it would help prevent “greenwashing”, stopping firms from over-exaggerating their actions on the environment in their marketing and that it would help investors understand different companies’ vulnerabilities.

The requirement will likely necessitate significant investments into carbon tracking technology so that firms can accurately report their emissions, something that technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and digital twins powered by IoT devices all claim to aid in – as reported in TI’s Green Enterprise Technologies Special Report.