'Net Features : green hosting

Why Green Hosting Matters

Administrator — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 21:34:00 GMT

By Kelly Meeneghan, Manager, 1&1 Internet, Inc.

When it comes to the level of technical support needed to maintain a fully functional website, not many people consider the impact it has on the environment. Just one website requires an entire server to be running 24 hours per day, seven days per week while housed and secured in a large data center. With more than 100,000 websites created each day, it is no wonder why the concept of ‘Green Hosting’ is attracting so much attention in the industry.

Hosting companies should take their carbon footprint very seriously and execute steps to ensure they are operating with green energy, while providing eco-friendly technology to its users. Understanding the inherent need for significant energy conservation encourages the company to continue protecting the environment as much as possible.

While this green mindset is a great strategy for hosts, customers are also benefiting from these initiatives. By supporting a sustainable environment, they are implementing a strong marketing strategy. For example, if a consumer is comparison-shopping between two similar businesses, environmentally conscious characteristics can be the deciding factor. Taking this information, hosts have developed logos for customers to include on their websites communicating that they are “Powered by Green Hosting.” Using this tool to generate a positive reputation helps to draw more profits and gain credibility as a business.

What was once an industry uninformed about its energy consumption is now one Whythat has actively started to adopt different resource methods to minimize the impact on the environment. A popular strategy for the hosting industry has become the implementation of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to offset the amount of energy consumed with reusable energy powered by wind, sun, water or biogas. Partnering with organizations like the Bonneville Environmental Foundation allows for the simple purchasing of these RECs for larger organizations.

Solutions for offsetting energy use is a significant element for a green hosting strategy, yet Web professionals should also investigate all of the green efforts a company makes. Implementation of paperless billing to save trees and operating with highly efficient power supplies resulting in less than 20 percent heat loss, are all aspects of a truly green organization.

Every year, additional developments and innovations are emerging to offer alternative solutions for energy usage. The rise of cloud technology and for example, things like dual hosting services, are both making Web hosts more conscience of what may be their lasting mark on their surroundings. Though, these technologies require more resources in order to sustain a strong, reliable service, implementing these special means to counteract the environmental impact is worth the effort and is taken seriously throughout the hosting industry.

About the Author

Kelly Meeneghan is a manager for 1&1 Internet, Inc. (www.1and1.com). As a global leader among Web hosts, 1&1 provides businesses with the tools necessary to get online and be successful. Meeneghan is also a regular contributor for WebsiteMagazine.

8 Great Green Hosting Providers

Amberly Dressler — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 14:35:00 GMT

Selecting a Web host is a tough decision that not only affects a website’s success, but also the environment.

According to HostGator (featured below), the average server produces the same emissions as a 15 mpg SUV. When you look at HostGator, the company hosts more than 4,000,000 websites on its shared and reseller Web hosting servers, which means a lot of carbon emissions. Let’s see how this company and others are making a difference in the hosting world.

Host: HostGator
Estimated Web Popularity*: 139

Going Green: Initially, HostGator took steps to minimize its environmental impact at the office, but the company wasn’t satisfied. HostGator expanded its eco-friendly initiatives a step further by switching to 36 percent more efficient servers, but the hosting business still wasn’t satisfied. Today, all of HostGator’s Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) have been registered, verified and retired from the market. Additionally, all of its shared and reseller servers are now 130 percent wind powered. Lastly, HostGator has purchased certified RECs representing 130 percent of the electricity used to both power and cool every one its servers.

Host: iPage
Estimated Web Popularity: 7,460

Going Green: iPage reduced its carbon footprint by purchasing enough RECs to offset its energy use by 200 percent. That means:

Host: DreamHost
Estimated Web Popularity: 8,169

Going Green: When DreamHost learned that running its company generated as much carbon dioxide as 545 average-sized homes, stakeholders realized they had to do something to neutralize their emissions. They found the most effective approach begins with resource conservation: turning off the lights, reducing travel, printing on both sides of the page, etc.

“Efforts are being ramped up here daily to do what we do with less,” reads the company website. “The next step is to use clean, renewable energy. Without the option to put up solar panels or connect with a green power utility for us, this means purchasing Renewable Energy Credits. Finally, to neutralize those unavoidable emissions we’ve invested in Emission Reduction Credits (a.k.a. “offsets”) which guarantee our remaining impact is effectively erased.”

DreamHost also holds a Certificate of Carbon Neutralization:

Host: FatCow
Estimated Web Popularity: 10,152

Going Green: FatCow’s company offices and data centers are powered by 100 percent wind energy, and the hosting provider offers a variety of free green badges that customers can add to their websites to announce they’re going green. FatCow believes that by adding their badge to a website can:

• Appeal to eco-conscious customers

• Verify that a website is powered by renewable energy

• Build a reputation as environmentally responsible

Host: HostPapa
Estimated Web Popularity: 24,011

Going Green: HostPapa was one of the first Web hosting companies to make a public commitment to going green. The company promotes the development and use of wind and solar energy resources by purchasing green energy certificates to offset all the power it uses in its data centers and offices. By putting equivalent clean energy back into the grid, the company effectively reduced its carbon footprint and supports renewable energy initiatives.

Host: GreenGeeks
Estimated Web Popularity: 24,911

Going Green: GreenGeeks pulls energy from the grid in order to make sure that it has a constant power flow for its servers and to make sure the servers would not be interrupted by a lack of power. According to the company, in order to compensate for the power it pulls from the grid, GreenGeeks purchases three times that amount in wind energy credits.

“This allows our customers to say that their web sites are 300 percent green and are actually helping to make the Web hosting and power systems greener, not just covering the carbon footprint but covering other carbon foot prints as well,” reads the website.

Here are some examples of the logos its clients can use to show their websites are hosted green:

Host: ThinkHost
Estimated Web Popularity: 110,976

Going Green: Most of ThinkHost’s staff telecommutes, so they aren’t contributing to global warming through trips to and from work. The company also uses little in the way of paper, as data is stored electronically. And most of the staff use notebook computers and low wattage lighting, reducing electricity requirements. What electricity they do use, including the amount used by servers, is 100 percent powered by renewable wind and solar energy.

The company also plants a tree for every new client.

Host: Green Host It
Estimated Web Popularity: 430,476

Going Green: Green Host It’s Web hosting servers are located in a green data center, and the company offsets its electricity usage with 100 percent Texas Certified Wind Power. Additionally, the company utilizes corporate Hybrid vehicles and its telecommuting staff further reduces its carbon footprint. According to Green Host It, taking just one employee off the road for a year is equivalent to removing approximately 13 tons of greenhouse gases. When website owners choose this hosting provider, they will receive a green badge to display on their sites, which is a way to start a green marketing campaign, because it shows their website visitors that their company is environmentally conscious.

*Estimated Web popularity is based on the monthly traffic rank provided by Ranking.com.

Five Easy Ways to Go Green on the Web

Michael Garrity — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 14:00:00 GMT

Happy Earth Day, loyal Website Magazine readers!

Some say that it ain’t easy going green, and that sentiment certainly rings true when you’re talking about a Web business. However, if you know where to look, there are actually plenty of ways that you can curb your energy consumption and make your website more environmentally friendly.

Green Hosting
Most of the energy consumption that takes place on the Web comes from hosting. After all, it takes a lot to host and manage all of the data from all of the websites out there on the ‘Net. However, some more forward-thinking hosting companies have begun to turn to green hosting, wherein they purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) that are powered by wind energy to offset the amount of energies used by their servers.

Don’t know how to find a green hosting provider? Never fear, our editorial staff compiled a list of some of the best right here.

Green Partners
Businesses can also take steps themselves to curb their energy use. Two of the best are by working with the EPA’s Green Power Partnership and the Energy Star program.

The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program in which partnering businesses can buy green power to reduce the environmental impact of their purchased electricity use. The EPA provides the businesses with expert advice, tools and resources and credibility through publicity and recognition for their green-inspired efforts.

Energy Star is a joint program from the EPA and the Department of Energy that partners with businesses to offer an energy management strategy that measures their current energy performance, sets goals, tracks their savings and rewards their improvements.

Simple Site Design
It’s no secret that the more bells and whistles you add to your website, the more energy it is going to take to display it. So why not tone it down, cut out the unnecessary frills and keep your design as simple as possible so that your business’ message is still clearly stated and your site is still interactive and useful for audiences.

One of the easiest ways to do this is to keep as much of the content of your Web pages above the fold, because then users won’t have to continue to scroll down and continue rendering the page, which constantly increases the amount of energy needed just to view a single page.

Printer-Friendly = Environment-Friendly
Sometimes people just need to print things out, and with stellar content like yours, it’s bound to happen. However, you can lessen the environmental impact and save a few trees by designing a printer-friendly version of your Web pages, especially those that you think are more likely to be printed.

You can do this by making an alternate version of the page that users can click on before printing. Some characteristics of a printer-friendly Web page are: They are black and white only, use a small-sized, serif face font, free of unessential images, JavaScript, Flash, animation and navigation (and sometimes advertising) and include a copyright notification and the original URL at the bottom of the page.

Be a Green Advocate
If nothing else, it probably doesn’t take much to put an image on your site encouraging and reminding your visitors of the importance of going green. A simple, tasteful logo will show off your commitment to an energy-conscious future, and hopefully influence your visitors to do the same.

FatCow Goes Green With Wind Energy

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Web hosting and domain registration provider FatCow announced today that its offices and data centers are now 100 percent powered by wind energy.

"We're offsetting all of our electricity use by purchasing wind-generated Renewable Energy Certificates," explains Paul Bukhovko, FatCow's Marketing Manager, "providing our customers with an environmentally preferable Web hosting solution." The Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are being supplied by wind energy marketer and developer Community Energy Inc. (CEI).

FatCow is buying 4,412,000 kilowatt hours (kWhs) per year of wind-generated RECs - a volume comparable to the entire output of one 1.5 megawatt (MW) wind turbine over the course of one year. When compared to the average generation mix in the national electric grid, the estimated environmental benefit from this purchase is equal to offsetting approximately 2,260 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, the impact of which is equivalent to planting about 2,390 acres of trees each year or not driving 6.1 million miles.

"Electricity generation is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, and Community Energy applauds FatCow for taking action on climate change," says Brent Alderfer, Executive VP of Community Energy. "Their commitment to 100 percent wind-generated RECs makes a difference for cleaner air, a stronger economy and new clean energy sources in the U.S."

Looking for more powerful tools and resources to accelerate your Web success?
Request a professional-level membership from Website Magazine.