A Cloud Revolution

In an age of digital transformation, businesses are constantly in pursuit of innovative ways to improve efficiency, resiliency and scalability. At the face of this push is cloud computing, enabling businesses to take advantage of computing services such as servers, storage, and artificial intelligence over the internet or ‘the cloud’. This transformation is revolutionising the ways businesses operate by reducing costs and inciting positive environmental impact through carbon reduction – more specifically by minimising the amount of carbon emissions produced (i.e. carbon footprint) as part of a shift to green cloud computing.

Concept of Green Cloud Computing

The green cloud computing movement has been broiling over the past few years and marks a progression for cloud providers in becoming more environmentally conscious. This provides businesses with the opportunity to instigate positive change by migrating to the cloud and becoming more sustainable. For example, in 2020, Microsoft pledged its oath to bring positive environmental impact across four key areas;

1. Occupy a 100% renewable energy mix by 2025
2. Become water positive by 2030 – meaning they will replenish more water than they consume
3. Hold a zero-waste certification by 2030
4. Perpetuate net-zero deforestation from new construction by 2025

Google has already achieved carbon neutrality and has its sights set on a carbon-free energy model for all its data centres by 2030. We’re also seeing other Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) including AWS, IBM and Oracle set similar sustainability goals demonstrating an industry-wide advance towards greener cloud services. This is significant as companies are now able to bring sustainability to the forefront of their business model by migrating to the cloud and facilitating the achievement of their
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals.

Are Cloud Services Climate-Aware?

The renewable nature of CSPs through investing in green energy sources (such as wind, solar and hydroelectric power) further decreases the environmental impact of computing resources. CSPs also operate highly efficient data centres that take advantage of state-of-the-art hardware and advanced cooling and energy management technologies. The result is a reduction in the overall carbon footprint compared to traditional on-premises data centres. A study conducted by Microsoft and the environmental consulting firm WSP Global found that cloud computing is more energy-efficient resulting in up to a 98% reduction in carbon emissions. This is echoed in a report published by Accenture Strategy that revealed public cloud migrations can lead to a reduction in CO₂ emissions by 59 million tons annually, equating to taking 22 million cars off the road. Cloud services also allow businesses to run on consumption-based plans where they only pay for what they use, reducing waste and promoting efficient resource utilisation, ensuring resources are not over/under-used. This is eloquently summarised by Vivek Kundra, the Former Federal CIO of the US Government, who stated:

“There was a time when every household, town, farm or village had its own water well. Today, shared public utilities give us access to clean water by simply turning on the tap; cloud computing works in a similar fashion. Just like water from the tap in your kitchen, cloud computing services can be turned on or off quickly as needed. Like at the water company, there is a team of dedicated professionals making sure the service provided is safe, secure and available on a 24/7 basis. When the tap isn’t on, not only are you saving water, but you aren’t paying for resources you don’t currently need.”

                                                                                                                                                             Vivek Kundra, Former Federal CIO – US Government, 2010