Cloud can reduce greenhouse emissions, but don't assume it's automatic
Source: https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/12/gartner_are_clouds_greener/
Author: Laura Dobberstein
"Organizations can't just outsource their environmental challenges to public cloud providers," analyst firm Gartner has warned.
In a report published last month titled "Quick Answer: How Green Are Public Cloud Providers?" Gartner concluded that opting for cloud storage over traditional legacy datacenters can cut associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 70 to 90 percent.
However, the GHG savings that come from adopting cloud do not accrue automatically. The power sources available to your organization, and to hyperscalers, can shift the dial.
"In regions where coal and fossil fuels are key to power generation, datacenters will have the greatest opportunity to reduce GHG emissions by migrating to the cloud. This is because these areas have more CO2 emitted per hour, and thus have the most room for reduction," said Gartner.
Circular economies help to ameliorate the impact of junked kit, but in 2022 only 17 percent of e-waste was recycled. Those numbers cover a time when supply chain problems bolstered the appeal and, at the time, necessity of using recycled materials.