Cloud Computing Sustainability
Compared to traditional data centers, 30_Knowledge/Cloud Computing has reduction potentials in terms of energy and resources, but also brings risks due to rebound effects, among other things.
Promises by Cloud Providers
- 2022-10-26: Are the CO2 emission reductions promised by cloud providers realistic? by Boavizta
- 2024-07-09: Microsoft and Googleβs GHG emissions gains call viability of net-zero targets into question | Computer Weekly
- 2024-07-15: How Amazon Matches Power Needs to Green Energy Sources - The New Stack
- 2024-07-17: Sustainability: How Did Amazon, Azure, Google Perform in 2023? - The New Stack by Adrian Cockcroft
Shared Responsibility Model
AWS and Azure use the "shared responsibility model" to communicate that there are different responsibilities for customers and the provider.
Source: The shared responsibility model (@AmazonWebServices.2023.SustainabilityPillarAWS)
Sustainability of the cloud: lower carbon footprint and more energy efficient than typical on-premises alternatives
Sustainability in the cloud: energy reduction and efficiency across all components of a workload
Sustainability through the cloud: workloads are designed to support wider sustainability challenges
Infrastructure Side
Sustainability of Cloud Providers
Hyperscaler:
- Sustainability of the AWS Cloud
- Sustainability of the Google Cloud
- Sustainability of the Azure Cloud
Other Providers:
Electricity Consumption & Carbon Emissions
Carbon Emissions of Cloud Computing
How to make data centers low-carbon?
Environmental Risks
Negative Environmental Aspects of Cloud Computing
Software Side
Responsibility of Software
Energy-efficient Deployment and Operation of Software in the Cloud
Resiliency & Sustainability in the Cloud
CNCF Sustainability Landscape
For an overview see the Cloud Native Sustainability Landscape by the CNCF TAG Environmental Sustainability.
Reporting of Carbon Emissions
Cloud Carbon Dashboards & APIs
Standards
- Sustainable Data Centers > Metrics
- Workload Carbon Footprint Standard
- Technology Carbon Standard
- Software Carbon Intensity Specification by the Green Software Foundation