Reducing our carbon footprint
We are committed to achieving SDG 13 “Climate action" and are constantly working to reduce our carbon footprint by using energy‑efficient equipment and technologies, as well as minimizing the carbon footprint of our air and road travel.
How we manage transport emissions
We understand that using air and road transport increases our environmental and climate impact, so we strive to reduce the amount of emissions from fuel combustion in transport. We have reduced our fleet to three vehicles and only use them for urgent travel.
We are committed to minimizing our carbon footprint from air travel. However, in 2022 and 2023, we expanded our business in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Turkey, which led to increased employee air travel compared with 2021. Nevertheless, in 2023, we managed to keep emissions at a level that was half of the 2019 base year (3,100 tons of CO2 equivalent).
In light of Earth Day 2023, Kaspersky revealed new data on the environmental impact of blocking crypto miners
Many of our users are victims of hidden crypto jacking, an illegal activity where cybercriminals secretly use the power of victims’ computers to mint new tokens. Smartphones, personal computers, tablets, and even servers of unsuspecting individuals and institutions can be compromised and used for mining cryptocurrency. This can cause devices to work less efficiently, more slowly or even fail, and also lead to them being infiltrated by third‑party viruses. Moreover, mining consumes a huge amount of electricity. The cryptocurrency industry’s annual carbon footprint is comparable to that of a large citywww.cell.com.
By protecting people from crypto jacking, we help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In 2022, we developed and introduced a special methodology that allows consumers and businesses to assess the impact of illegal mining on the environment.
Our solutions prevented more than 200 million attempts to use other people’s devices to mine cryptocurrenciesData based on anonymized statistics on the operation of Kaspersky solutions around the world in 2022. in 2022 and saved the possible energy equivalent of up to 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere comparable to the annual emissions of 652 cars.
How we manage energy consumption in the office
Kaspersky’s headquarters in Moscow are located in the Olympia Park business center, which has a Class A energy efficiency rating. The building is certified according to the international environmental standard BREEAM, and energy‑efficient technologies and materials were used in its construction.
At our main office, we employ modern solutions like LED lighting, motion sensors for light automation, and automatic lighting controls to optimize energy usage, especially during periods of reduced daylight. In 2020, we completely replaced fluorescent lamps in the business center parking lot with LED lamps, cutting our total lighting expenses by 30–45 percent.
We experienced a slight rise in electricity consumption in 2022 and 2023 compared to 2021, attributed to a shift in work formats for several employees from remote and hybrid arrangements prevalent in 2021 to in‑office work. Additionally, in late 2023, the Company relocated employees from another office in Moscow to its headquarters, which led to increased energy consumption by computer equipment and lighting fixtures. Another contributing factor to the increased electricity consumption was the reopening of the on‑site gym, cafeteria and restaurant following shutdowns due to COVID‑19 restrictions.
How we manage energy consumption at data processing centers
Data centers, or data processing centers (DPCs), are among the main factors that shape the carbon footprint of IT companies. Housing thousands of servers, these facilities operate continuously and require substantial energy consumption. In addition, the industrial air conditioners that provide DPCs with the necessary cooling consume large amounts of energy. Kaspersky uses its own DPC, which includes 33 racks of servers that support user infrastructure and the back office, as well as rented data centers for developmental needs.
The Company's DPC is powered by two independent substations, with a diesel generator on standby in the event of an emergency, and UPS batteries allow the servers to continue operating for roughly 30 minutes after all other power sources have been switched off. The server room is equipped with a clean agent fire extinguishing system that does not harm the environment.
Regular technical inspections are conducted on all electrical equipment within the Company. The generator undergoes a no‑load test every two weeks and a loaded test once every quarter. The fuel in the generator is replaced annually. The UPS supply system undergoes maintenance once a quarter.
Throughout the construction of the DPCs, energy‑efficient technologies and materials were used, including smart temperature controllers and occupancy sensors for lighting.
Utilizing the latest computing equipment helps us save power and reduce energy consumption. We are replacing outdated equipment with new equipment, which ensures better performance per unit of power, and are reducing the number of cables, racks and servers we use by utilizing virtualization environments and SSD drives. We also recycle old computer equipment and donate keyboards, laptops, screens, and phones to charity donating almost 240 pieces of equipment to seven various NPOs in 2023.
We maintain rigorous standards for DPC infrastructure and endeavor to utilize all available capabilities efficiently. For instance, during winter, we implement a free cooling system that utilizes outdoor air to cool the data center. We use energy‑efficient cooling methods in the data center, such as expanding the temperature range of server operation to 22–24°C, as well as organizing cold and hot air corridors.
To prevent the leakage of gasses used to cool servers, our employees check the operation of cooling equipment twice a day. If a leak is detected, the equipment is shut down, the refrigerant supply is switched off and the gas is sent to a special cylinder.
To assess the energy efficiency of our data centers around the world, we use the power usage effectiveness (PUE) indicator, which is calculated as the ratio of a data center’s total energy consumption versus the energy consumption of IT equipment. In 2023, our data centers had a PUE of two (compared with the global average of 1.55 in 2022, per the Uptime Institute).