At work we had a query recently asking if we offered any “green” hosting packages. My initial reaction was a roll of the eyes and slight annoyance. This is because in my book “green hosting” sounds like a total oxymoron. Computers, for a variety of reasons aren’t exactly the most environmentally friendly things in the world. They’re complex to produce, are composed of finite resources and are usually replaced within 3-5 years in a commercial situation. With web hosting they’re also housed in a big, chilled building (datacentre) with backup diesel generators, other redundant systems and are switched on 24/7. All to ensure everyone has a chance to see pictures of your cat in various hilarious situations. Green hosting has always struck me a little like asking if a green version of Jeremy Clarkson could exist… it’s a possibility, but I still wouldn’t rate the ice caps chances particularly highly…
Flippancy aside, a big part of humanity’s approach to it’s current predicament is taking steps to reduce ecofootprint (the amount of finite resources consumed and irreparable damage done to the environment) whilst waiting with crossed fingers for a technological solution that makes all the nasty news stories go away. So it isn’t surprising to receive the question and I expect we’ll get it a fair bit in the future.
Focusing on the good
It did get me thinking though, to what extent are we at work a “sustainable” company? How would I write an answer to this question on a company blog (if we had one). Thinking about it for a while, for a technology company, we’re actually pretty good…
- No paper.
All of our communications are sent by email. I have a couple of relevant bits of paper on the wall in my office with phone numbers etc on but otherwise work is entirely paperless for me. We don’t auto renew a domain and then send threatening letters demanding payment for the invoice (I’m looking at you 1&1…).
- Home working.
- No need to commute
- No need for business dress or other “uniform”.
- No need for a work PC / Laptop / Phone / Car, just the ones I’d have anyway did I not have to work.
- Efficient use of time (less commuting, more working).
Only a 1/4 of the Earth’s surface is “useful” bioproductive area, so if we work in our own homes and rent office space only when necessary and for the other reasons this is clearly a major factor, but it’s counter intuitive to the way we think in our society about professionalism. When I worked at the Environment Agency back in 2003/2004 there was a target to have a 1/3 of the workforce (3000 people) working from home as soon as possible to meet environmental targets and to solve very real office capacity problems, yet a small company would not advertise a high % of home working lest they be seen as unprofessional.
- Recycling old systems
Decommissioned hosting systems are often used as backup servers or test machines, re-use is generally more friendly than an option that needs processes which require more energy if it’s at all useful to the business.
- Virtualisation
Increasingly, as physical systems come to the end of their lives we move the accounts to virtualised systems. This means that more can often be done with less, and a capacity problem does not immediately have to result in the purchase of new hardware.
“100 % Insincere Hypocritical Guarantee?”
Ultimately, actually putting together a “green hosting” offering that wasn’t just a cynical “us too” would be pretty difficult for a small web host. There are only certain places in the world offering datacentres clearly supplied with sustainable energy and certified as such. Carbon offsetting or simply planting trees are easier options available to any business and I certainly support the idea of selling an account and immediately planting a tree, but were we to introduce “green hosting” with all the bells and whistles currently available, I think I’d still feel happier talking up the way we work.
