as access to technology broadens, google and its many tools have come to the forefront of our everyday technology use.<\/p>\n
because of this broad influence, google is considered a global megacorporation, as well as an internet monopoly. amazon and johnson & johnson are other examples of contemporary megacorporations. the concept, while mostly used in science fiction stories, originated in the 1600s with global trading companies such as the dutch east india company and the british east india company. in many ways these conglomerates have become untouchable, they have the power and resources to rise above liability. however in recent years the concepts of corporate responsibility and stakeholder theory have prevailed, forcing companies to be accountable to the public, in addition to shareholders. the influence of the public has implored these corporations to confront and resolve issues such as human rights violations and environmental damage.<\/p>\n
the environmental community has learned to be wary of initiatives from large corporations. we\u2019ve been burned before by companies like volkswagen and exxon. like many large corporations, google has made numerous claims about their environmental sustainability and mitigation efforts. in order to determine the validity of these claims, i interviewed a current google employee about this topic, as well as conducting my own research.<\/p>\n