Apple and Greenpeace recently traded blows in a public data center grudge match when the global non-governmental environmental organization released a report claiming that global software giant was among the heaviest consumer of coal among the world’s major tech giants, peaking at 100 megawatts.

Apple quickly defended itself, saying the Greenpeace report was flawed and that its recently-built 500,000 sq-ft Maiden NC facility will supply more than 60% of its power needs with renewable energy sources, peaking at only 20 megawatts.

So who’s right? We may never get the real numbers. But what does matter is that if your organization is relying on a hosting provider, it’s important that you know what power source is driving their data centers. What might surprise you is that a green data center could even end up costing you less.

What Is Green Hosting and What Does It Have To Do With Your Business?

It’s estimated that if energy consumption related to hosting continues to grow at the current rate, by 2020 the industry will be more polluting than the airline industry.
Hence the emergence of green hosting—or eco-friendly hosting: Internet hosting using green technologies to reduce its environmental impact. It can also involve powering a data center directly with renewable energy, planting trees and grass around and over data centers and other measures like using energy-saving appliances.

Companies do not always think about the power source their hosting provider uses to power its data centers. But they should.

By choosing a hoster with green data centers, organizations not only support a sustainable business environment, but can also leverage this choice as a powerful marketing technique. As more and more of your customers question the environmental impacts of their choices, you can demonstrate tangible efforts of reducing your carbon footprint. More than building goodwill, this decision can translate into a healthier bottom line.

Is Your Hosting Provider Green?

Consider this: For just one website to be online, a server has to run 24/7/365. Now imagine how much electricity is required to run a large data center and its many servers. In light of climate change caused by global warming, can your organization remain ignorant—or indifferent—to the power sources driving its operations?

And consider this: World Internet usage statistics show that the Internet is still rapidly growing in the U.S. Worldwide, the growth rate is a staggering 400 to 1000% a year.

The electric bill to operate those servers and related equipment? $2.7 billion in the U.S. and $7.2 billion worldwide.

As energy costs overtake server costs in data centers, energy will soon be a serious bottleneck to data center scale-out. The footprint of data centers will also place a heavy burden on global energy resources. And yet, energy is a poorly managed resource in many data centers: average data center energy efficiency is less than 50%.

Which begs the question:

What is your energy-hungry hosting provider doing to reduce its carbon footprint?

Here’s what we’re doing:

Reducing Data Center Carbon Footprints
SHERWEB	OTHER HOSTING PROVIDERS
Power source? 98% of our electricity comes from hydropower, a clean and re-usable energy source that’s readily available and assured for the long-term.	Power source? Some data centers are powered by coal, a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
Assured supply? This renewable power source is created by harnessing the power of fast-flowing rivers, an abundant resource in Quebec.	Assured supply? Some regions like California are regularly subject to rolling blackouts and power outages; sufficient long-term supply is now in question.
Geological stability? Quebec is inland and not at risk of serious hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes or Tsunamis. All infrastructures are designed for our yearly winter snowfalls.	Geological stability? Climate change is putting coastal regions at increasing risk of devastating hurricanes and tsunamis; California has the added risk of earthquakes, which are forecast to intensify.
Political stability? Canada is one of the world’s most politically stable countries and faces little threat from external or terrorists attacks.	Political stability? Data centers in large U.S. cities are at risk of terrorist attacks; data centers in developing countries face possible geological and political instability.

 

The Price of Green

Will green data centers cost you more as an end-user?

Not necessarily. As the following map shows, SherWeb’s electricity costs are significantly lower (16% to 62% cheaper) than those of other hosting providers that have their data centers in a major U.S. city.

SherWeb: Green, Renewable Electricity at 16% to 62% Cheaper Compared to Energy Costs in Major U.S. Cities

All organizations have to make tough operational choices. But when the choice can improve the environment and your bottom line, we think that just makes good business sense.

How much do you clients care about your organization’s carbon footprint? Do you think this will change?