Synopsys' Sustainability Efforts Grow: Azure Sky Wind Farm 

Barbara Donaldson

Aug 02, 2022 / 2 min read

At Synopsys, our aim is to create a Smart Future that’s sustainable, just, and secure. Our Smart Future Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy provides a focus and structure for how we manage our own operational impact and influence others around us to create a better world. Our goal is to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 25% by 2024 from a baseline year of 2018.

For more than a decade, I have focused on our operational impact by pursuing environmentally sustainable activities at Synopsys locations around the world, from recycling programs to green building.

Last year, we announced that Synopsys joined the largest corporate aggregated clean energy procurement agreement to date to accelerate the development of renewable energy. Synopsys contracted 15-megawatt of wind energy, to mitigate approximately 70% of our projected North American emissions. We are pleased to announce that the 111-megawatt wind farm as part of the “Azure Sky Wind Project” is now up and running in Throckmorton County, Texas, by Enel Green Power. It embodies our commitment to influence others around us through innovation, partnership, and collaboration.

Wind Farm (green hills)

Workplace Sustainability Efforts at Synopsys

This wind farm is just one of many environmental sustainability initiatives at Synopsys.

Though we lease the majority of our facilities, we have a goal to reduce our owned facilities’ impacts, and work to integrate high standards of environmental performance from design through use. For new building construction and renovation, we seek certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

We will look to landlords and developers to embrace renewable energy initiatives, and plan to establish leased space criteria and expectations. To that end, we signed onto CEBA’s Commercial Real Estate Principles as part of a drive to increase renewable procurement in real estate.

In 2021, we achieved CarbonNeutral® company certification across our global operations for the third year running, offsetting approximately 47,000 MTCO2e through a portfolio of high-quality, verifiable renewable energy certificates (RECs).

In partnership with Synopsys IT, we began a process of closing 38 inefficient on-premise data centers and transitioning to energy-efficient assets and more efficient co-location data center providers.

How I Contribute to Sustainability

At home, my sustainability efforts are similar. Like many households, mine has two refuse bins: one for recycling and the other for garbage. As the week goes by, I notice the recycling bin (which is twice as big as the garbage bin) is overflowing – it’s amazing to visually see how much waste we make and how much can be recycled. In general, I’m trying to minimize my use of plastics, including discontinuing use of plastic water bottles, plastic cups and food containers. and numerous other items. While it’s challenging, and nearly impossible, to eliminate plastics altogether, it’s something we need to be working towards.

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