Payment Giants Square has taken a noble step towards clean carbon energy. The company decided to launch clean energy initiative to make make the Bitcoin supply chain greener. Square committed $10 million to support companies which will help them drive adoption and efficiency of renewables within the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Square has partnered with Watershed, a company that powers climate programs for leading businesses, to provide ongoing support in measuring and reducing its carbon footprint. Square has mapped out a path towards a net zero carbon target through a combination of lowering its own carbon footprint in conjunction with scaling a verified carbon removal portfolio, which Square intends to launch in the first quarter of 2021.
“Committing to be a net zero carbon contributor is consistent with our purpose of economic empowerment, as we’ll continue to work for our customers without contributing to longer-term climate issues,” said Square Chief Financial Officer, Amrita Ahuja. “Endangering the environment will ultimately disproportionately endanger underserved communities around the world.”
Bitcoin is a unique part of Square’s footprint, as the company purchases the cryptocurrency on behalf of Cash App customers. The new Bitcoin Clean Energy Investment Initiative will support companies working on green energy technologies within bitcoin mining, and aims to accelerate its transition to clean power rather than only removing the carbon for the bitcoin that Square processes. The company intends to reinvest any of its gains from the investment back into the initiative, and is exploring the possibility of opening this initiative for participation by a consortium of like-minded companies in order to amplify the impact.
“We believe that cryptocurrency will eventually be powered completely by clean power, eliminating its carbon footprint and driving adoption of renewables globally,” said Square Co-Founder and CEO, Jack Dorsey. “Published estimates indicate bitcoin already consumes a significant amount of clean energy, and we hope that Square’s investment initiative will accelerate this conversion to renewable energy.”
