Salesforce and AT&T join forces to reduce IoT emissions

Salesforce and AT&T have joined forces to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices.

Salesforce will participate in AT&T’s Connected Climate Initiative (CCI), which works on connectivity-based solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1 gigaton by 2035. The effort brings together corporate leaders, universities and non-profits to unleash the power of connectivity solutions, including the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G and edge computing, to achieve this goal.

And AT&T is joining Salesforce’s Net Zero Cloud, which allows users to track their carbon emissions. “We welcome Salesforce to the JRC and look forward to innovating together on new ways to help businesses around the world achieve net-zero. And as we continue on our own journey toward carbon neutrality, Salesforce’s Net Zero Cloud will offer valuable information to help us get there,” said Charlene Lake, chief sustainability officer and senior vice president of corporate social responsibility at AT&T.

Since 2015, AT&T has worked with enterprise customers and non-profit organizations to drive connectivity solutions that help reduce emissions. It has focused on sectors that currently have large carbon footprints, including manufacturing, energy, and transportation.

One of the initiatives sought to track, monitor, better control and optimize heavy machinery and equipment such as tractors, forklifts and cranes, helping companies in these industries manage their performance in a single view. This solution helps companies collect and search vital equipment data, such as engine hours and machine fuel consumption, within Salesforce’s Net Zero Cloud, which calculates emissions so companies can better track their sustainability goals.

Net Zero Cloud provides AT&T customers with critical data accessible from virtually any location via a web portal or mobile application. This AT&T capability is available to any of AT&T’s enterprise customers.

Salesforce created Net Zero Cloud to simplify and improve the process of tracking and reporting on its own carbon footprint. This enabled the company to quickly track, analyze, and report emissions with reliable data. By 2021, the company achieved its net-zero residual emissions goal and 100% renewable energy for its operations, purchasing renewable energy equivalent to the electricity it uses globally.

Now, Salesforce is helping organizations of all sizes and industries accelerate their net-zero journeys. Several organizations, including JetBlue, Crowley, Clif Bar & Company, MillerKnoll, and the South Australian government are leveraging Net Zero Cloud to track their progress toward net-zero.

AT&T is now in the process of migrating to Net Zero Cloud to simplify and improve the timeliness and availability of emissions reporting. AT&T has been reporting its greenhouse gas emissions since 2008, but the process is labour-intensive and there has traditionally been a delay between when data is collected from emissions sources and when that data becomes available to decision-makers. 

“We put technology in the hands of our customers so they can make meaningful decisions about climate action,” said Ari Alexander, GM of Net Zero Cloud, Salesforce. “Every organization needs to accelerate to net-zero now. We are excited to collaborate with AT&T on their Connected Climate Initiative to help reduce emissions at scale and support their climate commitments with Net Zero Cloud.”