The color purple just became a lot more green. Last Tuesday, Yahoo! announced it would be going carbon neutral.

To be sure, Yahoo!'s announcement isn't groundbreaking; the list of carbon neutral commitments by big businesses is actually quite lengthy. The significance of Yahoo!'s announcement lies in the fact that Yahoo! reaches some 500,000 online users around the world. Talk about the potential for great impact!

According to Chief Yahoo David Filo's blog entry:

Yahoo! going carbon neutral is equivalent to shutting off the electricity in all San Francisco homes for a month. Or, pulling nearly 25,000 cars off the road for a year.

On Two Steps Forward, Joel Makower had this to say about Yahoo!'s potential to influence change:

Yahoo!'s biggest asset is its massive audience, which it has aggressively engaged on environmental issues, promoting green tips and stories each Earth Day and, more recently, partnering with Wal-mart, AC Nielsen, and two federal agencies to develop 18seconds.org, a site promoting compact fluorescent light bulbs. The ability to mobilize its user base is where Yahoo! stands out, and where it stands to make a significant contribution.

Even though it came a few days early, I'd say Yahoo!'s announcement is pretty good news on Earth Day.

Carbon Neutral Journal's news is brought to you by High Country Linen Service.

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