Greenpeace Confronts Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Over Supply Chain Emissions in Taiwan

A Massive and Growing Carbon Footprint

Nvidia’s own emissions data reflects this scale. An analysis found that the company’s supply chain emissions—classified as Scope 3—have risen sharply. According to a Greenpeace report, they more than doubled from 2.97 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in fiscal year 2023 to 6.03 million tonnes in fiscal year 2025, an amount roughly equal to the annual emissions of more than 125,700 US households . Another Greenpeace document placed the figure for fiscal year 2025 at 6.91 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, nearly double the 3.51 million tonnes from fiscal year 2023 .

Critically, over 80% of Nvidia's total carbon footprint comes from its supply chain, much of which is in East Asia . Despite this, the company has not set a clear target to cut these emissions or made direct investments in renewable energy projects in its key manufacturing hubs like Taiwan and South Korea .

A “Decarbonization Deficit” Among Suppliers

An investigation into Nvidia’s 20 largest suppliers, which represent over 50% of its cost of goods sold, revealed a significant gap in clean energy adoption. The report found a “decarbonization deficit” in its East Asian supply chain, where just 24% of supplier electricity came from renewables, compared to over 80% among its North American suppliers . This discrepancy led Greenpeace to rank Nvidia last among major AI companies on supply chain decarbonization efforts .

Greenpeace’s Three Demands for a “Clean AI, Clean Future”

The confrontation in Taipei was tied to Greenpeace’s global “Clean AI, Clean Future” campaign, which lays out a clear set of demands for the world’s most valuable chipmaker .

1. Transparency: Publish transparent, annual updates on supplier emissions and renewable energy use .
2. A Binding Target: Commit to powering 100% of its entire supply chain with renewable energy by 2030, and explicitly stop relying on fossil fuel and nuclear power .
3. Direct Investment: Invest in and actively advocate for the development of new renewable energy capacity in critical supplier regions, specifically Taiwan and South Korea .

The underlying argument is straightforward. Greenpeace contends that Nvidia cannot position itself as the engine of a 21st-century “AI industrial revolution” while its supply chain remains powered by what they describe as “19th-century energy sources” .