When migrating to the cloud, there may be circumstances preventing companies from moving certain IT infrastructure meaning it remains on-premises. This may be down to legacy systems that might not be fully compatible with cloud environments or because of complex application dependencies, for example. The difficulty here is that this may not align with companies Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals given that they cannot prosper from the sustainability benefits that cloud computing provides. This is where carbon offsetting becomes a viable option in targeting unavoidable carbon emissions produced by IT infrastructure that must remain on-premises. In particular cloud-first companies who wish to maintain green practices and find a solution to overcome the challenges of cloud computing. 

Importance of Carbon Offsetting & Trading 

Carbon offsetting programs allow individuals and businesses to invest in environmental initiatives globally to neutralise their own carbon emissions. These projects are typically located in developing countries and are aimed at reducing future emissions and boosting economies. Such projects include the implementation of renewable energy technologies, including solar and wind power, or purchasing and retiring carbon credits from emissions trading schemes. Some offsetting programs capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through afforestation/reforestation like Eden: For People+Planet. Others may capture biogas at landfill sites for use as an energy source, such as Project Drawdown where they have forecast a reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) greenhouse gas emissions by 3.89 gigatons between 2020 to 2050. This presents an opportunity for increasing the accessibility of carbon offsetting for companies who wish to offset their IT infrastructure and continue their journey to net-neutral. 

Streamlining Carbon Credit Purchasing with Co2e.tech – a Source Code Control asset 

To simplify the process of carbon credit purchasing, co2e.tech provides businesses with a bespoke calculation that quantifies the exact amount of carbon produced by their IT infrastructure annually. This allows them to establish the number of tonnes needed to invest in to achieve carbon neutrality for their physical and cloud IT infrastructure. Co2e.tech also partners with Ecologi, a climate action platform that enables individuals and companies to invest in a wide range of climate projects leading to 83.4 million trees planted and 3.3 million tonnes of CO2e avoided thus far. Ecologi’s projects align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a pivotal framework supporting the call for action to reach peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. This may be achieved through projects around sustainable forest management and education in Fazenda Manoa, southern Brazil to contribute to conservation efforts in the Amazon rainforest, and the restoration of coastal wetland ecosystems to grow and protect these vital carbon sinks and reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Projects are also certified by carbon offsetting standards including the Verified Carbon Standard (VERRA), the Gold Standard, and the Puro Standard (Puro Earth) to be sure funding is going towards trusted offsetting schemes founded on transparency and driving real sustainability impact.  

As companies are becoming increasingly climate-conscious, co2e.tech’s mission is to empower companies with the knowledge of how much carbon their technology is producing, to help improve accessibility to carbon neutralisation and ESG goal achievement. To begin a forward-thinking approach to cloud-first carbon neutrality, check out co2e.tech’s services on the website to find out more.