Facebook friends the environment … or does it?

Facebook announced today it’s going green. The social networking giant unveiled “Green on Facebook,” a site geared toward sharing environmentally-friendly living tips and green content.

The company has also has joined the Digital Energy Solutions Campaign, a group that works on public policy and setting standards for energy efficiency. In a way, the move marks Facebook’s position as a top, global company — it’s certainly trendy, if not mandatory, for all large, big-name companies to sign onto green initiatives.

“Our ongoing philosophy has been to improve the efficiency of our infrastructure, and we continue to invest tremendous resources to improve our own operations. By creating and sharing innovative technology solutions, we hope to help raise the visibility of the importance of environmental sustainability across all industries,” said Jonathan Heiliger, vice president of technical operations, in a company statement.

But the announcement also has interesting timing. Facebook is currently under fire from Greenpeace activists for its new data center in Portland, which will be run on coal-powered electricity. Data centers are huge power guzzlers, so Greenpeace sounded the alarm, calling for Facebook to change its plans, and releasing a YouTube video bashing the company’s plans.