2. Green Web Hosting

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Green web hosting trends highlights

• Web hosting companies are addressing environmental issues by investing in green energy initiatives.
• Renewable energy certificates (REC) recognize that a web hosting company invested in the generation of renewable energy.
•  Carbon offset certificates (VER) give accreditation to a web hosting company that practice reducing greenhouse gas output.

The Internet’s annual CO2 output is equal to 31 million cars driving around the world all at once. How did this happen? Well, think of the physical location where all your website data get stored. These are called data centers, and there’s definitely a lot going on in these places.

Apart from the web developers managing all the servers, all the hardware gets their fair share of work too, if not actually more. Much like the daily gadgets we use, like our phones, tablets, and laptops, they tend to get hot when used for a long time. Thus, the hardware in data centers needs to be stored in a cool and controlled environment. This, however, requires incredibly energy-intensive maintenance and results in a significant amount of CO2 output.

Fortunately, web hosting companies are now investing in carbon offsetting schemes. In green web hosting, web hosts actively participate in eco-friendly initiatives to reduce negative impacts on the environment. They do this by gaining renewable energy certificates (REC) or carbon offset certificates (VER).

RECs certify that a hosting company helped in generating renewable energy. Companies that specialize in creating renewable energy generate these RECs and sell them to a hosting company. The money from this purchase then finances the operational costs for green energy initiatives. VERs, however, certify that a hosting company helped in reducing the number of greenhouse gases that the certificate states.

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