Introduction Empowering individuals Working together Operating sustainably Governance and engagement Appendix 2023 Environmental Repo爀琀 Building circular workplaces and stores Building design and construction is one of the largest Circular design and sources of global waste—roughly 30% of all global annual waste comes from building construction and construction  109 demolition. When we design and build Google workplaces and stores around the world, we strive to To make our workplaces more circular, we design deliver on our commitment to accelerating the circular adaptable spaces that can be adjusted over time using economy. fewer renovation materials, we incorporate reuse and material salvage practices, and we provide a rigorous When the right oppo爀琀unity comes up, we pursue model for healthy materials that can be adopted by adaptive reuse projects, renovating existing buildings others. For example, our Bay View and Charleston to serve a new purpose rather than demolishing them East campuses both incorporate salvaged materials for new builds. These reuse projects tend to use fewer into the building design, and both aim to reduce materials, produce less construction waste, and have future renovation waste through highly 昀氀exible and lower embodied carbon. They also preserve community recon昀椀gurable work areas. history, giving historic structures new life as Google workplaces and, in some cases, community spaces, too. For more than a decade, we’ve prioritized building materials that demonstrate safer chemistry to create Some examples include our Playa Vista, California, healthy indoor environments and advance our circularity o昀케ce—a repurposed 1943 airplane hangar, and our goals. One way we promote healthy materials is by Pier 57 o昀케ce in New York City—a historic cruise terminal leveraging third-pa爀琀y standards like the LBC, one of the and transit depot that sat vacant for 20 years before most ambitious green building ce爀琀i昀椀cations in the world. Google reimagined it into an o昀케ce and community space. Our focus on transparency aims to encourage stronger standards in the building industry at large, paving the We also consider adaptive reuse for our data centers, way for others to purchase healthier materials. such as for our data center in Hamina, Finland, which was formerly an abandoned paper mill. We recently opened or advanced several workplace and store projects that re昀氀ect these core principles of circular design and construction (see Figure 23). Our Bay View campus—opened in 2022—also incorporates our circularity principles of designing out waste from the sta爀琀, keeping materials in use for as long as possible, and promoting healthy materials. Learn more in our Pier 57, which served as a historic cruise terminal and transit depot, sat vacant for 20 years before Google reimagined it into an o昀케ce and community space. Bay View spotlight. 58