In some previous posts we have seen issues
related to electronic devices after their useful life. This is one of the
biggest issues related to the Green IT world, but how about
energy usage by data centers? What are big IT companies doing to be more
sustainable?
Today's digital age requires ultra-fast
computer servers to process incredible amounts of information instantaneously.
These computer servers are housed in gargantuan facilities called “data
centers.” Millions of data centers exist around the world processing every
click, tweet, upload, or download generated by some one billion users. Data
centers consume stupendous amounts of energy, most of them, in an inefficient
manner. Experts say that the wasted power produced by most data centers is
taking a very real and lasting toll on the environment.
Recent research shows that data centers produce
two percent of global emissions, a consumption equivalent to a country as big
as Japan.
In 2010 Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and Apple said
they would focus on using more renewable power to minimize the environmental
impact of their services.
In fact, in April 2014 Greenpeace marked
Google, Apple, and Facebook as the cleanest data center operators for
transparency, policy, efficiency, and advocacy in its April Clicking Clean report.
Google received a B rating for
transparency, B for policy, B for efficiency, and A for advocacy.
Apple earned A, A, B, and A, while Facebook managed A, A, A, and B for the
same categories. The three companies, alongside Box, Rackspace, and Salesforce,
have committed to powering data centers with 100 per cent renewable energy.
Greenpeace's scorecard lists Apple as having
already reached a 100% clean energy index, while Google is split; 48% sits
within the clean energy index, 13%in natural gas, and 22% and 15% in coal and
nuclear energy, respectively. Facebook is divided 49%, 7%, 25% and 16% along
the same categories.
Meanwhile, Greenpeace places Amazon Web
Services (AWS) among the "dirtiest and least transparent companies in the
sector." AWS has zero reporting of its energy or environmental footprint.
Twitter falls under the same bracket.
Besides using renewable energy, another solution
to reduce digital pollution can be found in innovation.
A growing number of data centers are
redirecting the heat from their hot aisles to nearby homes, offices,
greenhouses and even swimming pools. The ability to re-use excess heat from
servers is being built into new data centers, helping to improve the energy
efficiency profile of these facilities.
Here are some examples of heat recycling data
centers:
Telecity (France)
Telehouse West (United Kingdom)
IBM (Switzerland)
IBM and Syracuse University
(New York)
Notre Dame University
(Indiana)
Quebecor (Canada)
Knowing the huge impact they can have, make
sure you choose wisely when selecting which data center to work with?
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