Balancing business and service demands with efforts to be a responsible environmental citizen is a challenge for any web hosting provider. In this article we will discuss green web hosting, how the team at BigScoots supports these efforts, and how its partnership with Ecologi contributes to a greener future.
Table of Contents
The Digital Reality
Websites may not immediately conjure up visions of mass energy consumption, however they are hosted within data center servers, networking equipment, and storage systems that require a constant supply of electricity to operate seamlessly. Our web hosting infrastructure performs at such a high capacity that it can consume colossal amounts of energy and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, these concerns are what began our journey to finding ways to create smaller environmental footprint .
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), data centers and data transmission networks accounted for 300 metric tons of CO2e in 2020, which is nearly 1% of energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
While 1% of GHG emissions may not seem critical, web hosting providers need to be good environmental stewards and mitigate their environmental impact by practicing green web hosting.
What is Green Web Hosting?
While the approach may vary from provider to provider, green web hosting is truly a commitment from a hosting provider to operate as eco-friendly as possible and/or contribute in meaningful ways to offset the environmental impact of web hosting services. Bottom line…make every effort to minimize or offset the carbon footprint created from the energy consumption of servers delivering web hosting services.
How Does BigScoots Practice Green Web Hosting?
BigScoots operates its own hardware infrastructure to support its Managed WordPress Hosting plans. But it is important to note that this infrastructure resides inside of wholesale multi-tenant data facility. While BigScoots does not control all operational controls, it strives to deliver significant contributions to green web hosting by choosing eco-friendly facilities, operating its infrastructure efficiently, and contributing back through environmental programs.
LEED Gold Data Center Facility
Bigscoots hosts its infrastructure within the very first LEED Gold data center. The distinction of LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is given to data centers that exhibit sustainable operations such as:
- Advanced cooling systems and efficiencies
- Reduced energy consumption
- Clean backup power systems that reduce emissions, noise, and fuel consumption
- Use of renewable energy sources
- Intelligent designs that helps to contain heating and cooling resources where needed
Delivering sustainability stats that include use of 61% renewal energy and 75% carbon free energy, this facility gives BigScoots peace of mind that its facility operations are operating environmentally efficient as possible.
Efficient Infrastructure Operations
Within the data center facility, BigScoots directly operates its infrastructure footprint with efficiency in mind, including taking such steps as:
Energy Efficient Hardware
BigScoots makes every attempt to operate with the highest levels of energy-efficient hardware and power supplies. One example includes the use of 80+ Platinum-level power supplies that deliver 93%+ efficiency at 50% loads. Another example includes the use of low-energy solid state drives (SSD) with NMvE as opposed to heat platter-based hard drives.
Hot Aisle/Cold Aisle Server Racks
BigScoots racks its servers in hot aisle/cold aisle layouts that enable greater airflow management to reduce cooling costs. By separating and containing the hot air exhausted from IT cabinets from the cold air that is being used to cool them, cooling fan speeds can be lowered resulting in reduced overall energy consumption.
Efficient Airflow Cabling
Efforts to ensure the greatest airflow efficiencies goes all the way down to how BigScoots chooses and installs cabling in racks and cabinets. For instance, BigScoots chooses to use slim CAT6 cabling to ensure high data transfer performance. But for efficiency, the slim size occupies less space when dressed (installed) within a cabinet, allowing for greater airflow and lowered energy consumption to cool cabinets.
Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM)
BigScoots also uses an intuitive data center infrastructure management (DCIM) platform that digitally and visually maps out its infrastructure footprint with regards to space, power, and network capacity considerations.This allows BigScoots to easily identify optimal placement hardware devices for greatest efficiencies, monitor energy consumption to address inefficiencies early, and keep its infrastructure running as smoothly as possible.
BigScoots continues to explore different infrastructure technologies to operate within the lowest energy consumption possible. But nevertheless, it still consumes energy. That’s why BigScoots has chosen to offset this carbon footprint by contributing back to the environment.
Environmental Contribution
For more than two years now BigScoots has continued to offset its carbon footprint by partnering with Ecologi, and actively contributing to their mission to “inspire and empower businesses to accelerate global climate action.”
What is Ecologi?
Ecologi is a passionate community of over 20,000 businesses and 42,000+ members that focus on championing SMEs as green revolutionaries. They empower them on their journey to reduce emissions and take climate action by funding projects such as reforestation, renewable energy, or restoring habitats to create positive change for the environment.
How Has BigScoots Contributed?
According the reports provide by Ecologi at the time of this article, contributions from BigScoots over the past 26 months have helped to fund many different climate projects.
- 3,775 Trees Planted to help restore healthy ecosystems, sequester and store carbon in soils and plants,and boot biodiversity
- 1,189 trees planted in Kenya as part of a forest restoration project
- 1,441 mangroves planted in Madagascar to help restore its ecosystem
- Additional projects in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Uganda, and more.
- 34 Climate Projects Funded to deliver clean energy and conservation around the world.
- Turning methane gas into electricity in Brazil
- Hydro power project in India to create clean electricity
- Wind power projects in Mexico, Honduras, Thailand, and Bulgaria
- Protection of Mataven Forest in Columbia and Rainforest in Brazil
- Renewable solar electricity in Egypt and India
- Turning waste into electricity in Chile and India
- Improving metro transport efficiency in India
- Distributing cleaner cook stoves in Kenya
To see full list of projects and on-going progress, visit the BigScoots Ecologi dashboard
How Have These Impacted Climate?
These contributions over the past two years has prevented over 555.4 tCO2e (tonnes (t) of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent (e)) from being emitted. To put this into perspective, the amount of emissions that have been prevented would be equivalent to:
- Eliminating emissions created from over 426 long-haul flights from London to San Francisco.
- Eliminating emissions created from over 1,377,947 miles driven in an automobile
- Preserving 1,666 metres2 of arctic sea ice
Conclusion
If you are passionate about the environment and want to make a positive climate change, consider working with a company that is committed to green web hosting actions. Or, get involved with an environmental organization like Ecologi and “gift more impact” as an individual. Either way, we can all make a bigger impact when we all take action together.
