A: Yeah. We’re basically hoping to make (electric cars) more scalable and affordable.
Q: So you’re investing in electric cars, solar power, and renewable energy that’s cheaper than coal. Why is electricity so important to an Internet company?
A: Well, we’re a consumer of electricity so it’s in our best interest to find cheap electricity to use. And because we really care about it, we don’t want to be destroying the planet.
Q: You do other things besides electricity too, right? Tell me about what you did with this building we’re in now, for instance.
A: We did a lot of experimenting with cradle-to-cradle products. Our carpet, for instance. When we’re done with it, we can send it back to the manufacturer and they grind it up into little pellets and use it again in the supply stream so it never ends up in a landfill. In some of our window shades and the textiles we use in our cubicles, we focus on eliminating toxins. We have filtered water everywhere, we have 90 percent fresh air coming into the building throughout the day—a lot of stuff you can’t really see.
Q: So what’s your typical day like?
A: Oh it varies. When we were installing solar panels, I was up on the roof every day or in the construction trailers. Right now, it’s more meetings and business-y sort of stuff.
Q: Your position is pretty unique, although there are more companies going green these days. How long have you been doing this?
A: About two and a half years. Actually before I did this, I was working directly for (Google co-founders) Larry (Page) and Sergey (Brin) as their assistant.
Q: Really? So how did you get into the green business then?
A: Well my background is in civil engineering and I became very interested in green building during college (at Stanford University). When I came to Google, one of my main duties was to represent Larry and Sergey on office projects. I knew my way around a construction site, and through that, I was able to help educate project teams … and you know they (the founders) gave me a lot of freedom.
