Clouds & Carbon — A Starting Point on Cloud Cleanliness
Terms to Know
When I first started exploring the world of technology, the connection between cloud services and environmental impact wasn’t immediately clear to me. It seemed so obvious once I learned about it: Cloud technologies consume power, and power generation directly correlates with carbon emissions. This realization sparked a deep dive into an area often overlooked. For those curious about the environmental footprint of cloud technologies, consider this your essential introductory guide.
A carbon footprint is how many greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere as a result of human activity. You may often hear that carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main gas of focus due to its ability to disrupt climates.
What are Carbon Emissions?
‘Carbon emissions’ is the term used to denote a metric, the measure of which is ‘how many greenhouse gasses are being released as a result of whatever is being measured’.
What is Net Zero?
When I first heard of net zero, I thought it meant that organizations had to reduce their emissions to zero. I’ve since learned that’s not exactly it; Net Zero means the carbon emissions are reduced to the point that whatever is left can be absorbed by nature. It ‘zeroes out’, so to speak.
Great, What Does this Have to Do With Cloud?
Cloud technologies have the potential to be a liability or a boon to corporate responsibility. Companies like Google and Microsoft have really dug into making Cloud a ‘cleaner’ energy source.
Get Jessica Algoo’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Cloud Technology can contribute to carbon footprints in the following ways:
- Replacing On-premise (on-prem for short) Infrastructure
- Data Center size, location, and power factors
- Streamlining processes to do more with less
There are many other factors I hope to do a deep dive on in a different post, but whether or not these factors help or hurt a company’s carbon commitments depends on a whole slew of other things: how accurate is your reporting? Are you tracking the right KPIs? Do your commitments need adjustment? Have you taken both the granular and 10,000 foot view? These questions and more relate directly into whether investing in Cloud technology is the right fit for your organization — and which ones to invest in.
Citations & Further Reading
- GIFs provided by GIPHY (Alternative text is my own)
- https://watershed.com/blog/carbon-in-the-cloud
- Net Zero Coalition
- Microsoft Blog — Carbon Negative
- Google Cloud — Carbon Footprint
- EPA — Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Graphic created with Canva
Love this story and want more like it? I’m a curiosity‑driven writer mapping new creative projects. If you’d like to journey with me, support me on Patreon. Subscribers get all kinds of perks, and access to my writing before anyone else.
Don’t feel like subscribing but still want to support me? Here are some other ways to do so:
- Engaging with my content on various platforms (follows, likes, and shares)
- Subscriptions
- One-Time tip jars on Patreon
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being here and journeying with me.
Originally published on the Beehiv platform on October 23, 2024
