Google has recently announced to launch new features in the near future. These new features are focused on reducing environmental impact of customers and raising awareness of GHG emissions and climate change. The features are among others; better search results with high quality climate information, alternative and more sustainable routes in google maps, CO2 information when booking flights and software support for a distance-controlled thermostat. All sound like nice features. But the voice of critics has increased. More and more people voice their opinion, stating that is easy for companies to show individual customers how to be more sustainable. However, statistically spoken, corporates and governments are the real problem. This requires some nuance in my eyes, as our open markets make sure the corporates supply what we as customers demand. But still, in a crisis as developed and serious as the climate crisis we are in at the moment, leaving this problem to an open market probably won’t save us.
Features from Google and other companies that are focused on increasing awareness and trying to influence individual behaviour of customers are nice, but it’s not enough. So why are they doing it? Well, I don’t work at Google, so I don’t know for sure. However, I can think of some reasons. The first being the argument that everything helps. Which is true in my opinion. However, the time and resources spent on these features might have had more influence if spent elsewhere. But again, I don’t work at Google. And second, it looks nice. Yes, having these green leaves everywhere in the developed user experience creates the subconscious thought and opinion that a company is ‘green’. But are they?
Curious to hear your thoughts!
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Hi Thom,
I like your article and am very glad that people are taking notice of the weird pattern that has been occurring with companies implementing features to help their consumers be more sustainable, when in fact the companies are the big contributors to the problem. It seems like there’s been a weird wave of the accountability for sustainability being pushed onto consumers, and when you look at it critically you realize that companies stand to gain the most from that accountability not being placed on them. An example I find troubling is that consumers are expected to pay premium prices for organic and sustainable goods at supermarkets, when all the company does is make an increased profit on those items. This makes it seem like they contribute to sustainability, when all they do is profit from it.
As climate change becomes a more and more pressing issue, I hope that articles like yours help make it more clear to people that the problem of sustainability lies mostly with the business sector and not with private citizens.