Zero carbon infrastructure
This list is a collection of providers (VPS, hosting, email, etc.) that run their business on renewable energy and have a commitment towards the environment.
This list focuses on zero carbon providers, not on carbon neutral ones.
VPS and hosting
netcup.eu
netcup.eu is a European cloud provider.
From their Green Electricity page:
netcup's own data centre is powered by electricity from renewable energy sources. A conscious decision has been made to avoid nuclear power and sources that are environmental CO2 polluters. netcup sources its energy from the power generated by flowing water.
tilaa.com
tilaa is a European cloud partner that actively tries to limit its impact on our environment.
From their Conscious Cloud Hosting page:
Renewable energy is an essential condition for a sustainable future. That is why, all of our cloudservers are already powered by 100% renewable energy. The PUE is 1.2, which is lower than the market average.
scaleway.com
scaleway.com is a European cloud provider with datacenters in Paris, Amsterdam and Warsaw.
From their About us page:
We’ve always challenged the status quo rather than build on normal, and that’s why our data centers are carbon neutral and are 100% powered by renewable energy. Our latest data center, DC5, uses an adiabatic cooling system which is based on an evaporative process (no air conditioning). DC5 is therefore radically more efficient and uses less energy than a traditional data center.
datacenterlight.ch
datacenterlight.ch is located in Switzerland. They operate with 99.9% hydropower from the Alps and a 0.01% from solar energy. They claim also to reuse existing factory halls instead of building everything new. They have been mentioned by Julian Oliver in his talk Server Infrastructure for Global Rebellion.
From their renewable energy page:
Not every data center has an in-house hydropower plant, but we do. Data Center Light runs with 99.9%* hydropower. Few meters away from where our servers are running, the hydropower plant is generating electricity in the basement. We assure you that our electricity is made of 100% renewable energy.
*0.1 % of electricity comes from solar power.
greenhost.net
greenhost.net is a Dutch provider powered by 100% Dutch wind energy.
From their sustainability page:
Green and sustainable web hosting, from small, simple websites to complex setups with multiple VPSs, is the foundation of Greenhost. We have been front runners in this field for over fifteen years, and we still strive towards maximal sustainability in every step of our production process. This goes just as much for the small choices, like which coffee or furniture to use and for the big contributions, like which hardware or energy supplier to select. This page provides more background information on policy and the choices made.
runbox
runbox is an independent private Norwegian company headquartered in Oslo, Norway. Runbox is double carbon negative. They care about sustainability, security, privacy. The company is owned by employees and board members (77.54% in 2018) and close associates.
From their sustainability page:
Runbox works continuously to decrease CO2 emissions from our operations and act in an environmentally responsible manner. Our environmental policy lays out our commitments to reducing, reusing, and recycling our resources. In our policy we also pledge to doubly offset any CO2 emissions that do result from our operations despite our email service being entirely hydropowered.
Thanks Carl Emil Carlsen for the recommendation.
FlokiNET
FlokiNET is an Icelandic provider located also in Romania and Finland. They provide a safe harbor for freedom of speech, free press and whistleblower projects.
From their ecological responsibility page:
Iceland´s geographic location provides plenty of both water and wind used to generate energy, from either hydroelectric dams (for further information, see the website for Landsvirkjun, Iceland´s National Energy Company, www.landsvirkjun.com) or, in super-heated form as steam in geothermal power plants, such as the one pictured above (see Reykjavik Energy website, https://www.or.is/English). The second one, wind, provides a steady supply of natural cooling and helps to keep temperatures down.
This temperate climate is the ideal for data centers. The energy is clean, and renewable. Pollution from energy production is non-existent and the carbon footprint is absolutely zero. Natural free cooling, amply provided by Kári (an Icelandic nick name for the wind), is used to control temperatures inside the data center, and helps to keep costs down. The average temperature at the data center location is 1.8°C in January and 10°C in July.
1984
1984 is an Icelandic provider established in 2006. They care about civil rights and Free Software.
From their about page:
Green, sustainable geothermal and hydro power energy. 1984 commits to environmentally responsible business practices by utilizing only electricity from renewable energy sources and placing emphasis on reaching the highest possible energy utilization efficiency levels. This is achievable in Iceland, because all electricity production meets the aforementioned criteria and the cold climate makes PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) very high, meaning that for each watt used to run servers, storage and network equipment, proportionally very little is used for cooling, lighting and other overhead.
Bahnhof
bahnhof.net is a Swedish provider focusing on extreme security and low cost green energy.
They started an intiative called Triple Green that states:
Triple Green is an environmental certification for data centers which fulfill a tough set of requirements on renewable energy and efficiency. The initiative was started by Bahnhof AB.
- The data center must be powered by renewable energy only.
- Heat from the servers is collected and used for heating of nearby households.
- The household heating replaces other energy sources, and everyone profits in the process.
greengeeks.com
greengeeks is a US (California) provider. They claim that a GreenGeeks account has a positive energy footprint on the environment as they replace, with wind power credits, 3 times the amount of energy your website will use.
From their platform page:
Our hosting platform has been designed with a maximum use, no waste of resources mindset. Every aspect of our hosting platform is built to be as energy efficient as possible. In addition to this, for every amperage we pull from the grid, we invest 3 times that in the form of renewable energy via Bonneville Environmental Foundation. Your website will be "carbon-reducing" when hosted on our platform. You can feel good that you're helping make a difference by hosting on a platform that is eco-friendly.
Hetzner
WARNING: Hetzner has a very stupid policy about blockchain, and while I agree PoW mining is bad, I don't see any problem with the rest.
The operation of applications for mining cryptocurrencies remains prohibited. These include, but are not limited to, mining, farming and plotting of cryptocurrencies. We are entitled to lock the Customer’s access to their Hetzner services or account in the event of non-compliance.
hetzner.com is a German hosting provider and data center operator, established in 1997. It has data centers in Germany and Finland, and they claim to have 0 CO₂ emissions by running on 100% green electricity.
From their environmental protection page:
Hetzner Online is taking responsibility and protecting the environment.
Taking responsibility for the environment means there is an increasing need to obtain energy from renewable sources. Hetzner Online uses energy from renewable sources to power the servers in its data centers.
mailbox.org
mailbox.org is a company based Berlin, Germany, that runs on 100% green energy. They claim that their servers are energy-efficient and powered by eco-friendly energy. I'm a mailbox user and I'm quite satisfied.
From their sustainability page:
Our servers are energy-efficient and powered by eco-friendly energy that provided through the data centers. We use renewable energy in our offices, too, provided by the company "Lichtblick". Whenever we need to go visit one of the data centers we use public transport or car-sharing offers by Stadtmobil. Should a flight be necessary, we compensate the extra emissions caused with a contribution to atmosfair.
posteo.de
posteo.de is an independent email service based in Berlin, Germany. They are highly concerned with sustainability, security, privacy and usability.
From their sustainability page:
Our servers and offices run 100% on green energy from Greenpeace Energy, which comes from hydro stations and wind turbines in Austria and Germany. Greenpeace Energy makes no compromises in terms of its supply concept and development of new facilities:
- No greenwashing: Greenpeace Energy does not label power from coal or nuclear sources as green energy and declines to deal in certificate trading such as RECS.
- Transparency: Greenpeace Energy openly displays its supply sources for its customers to see.
- Promoting new facilities: Within five years at the latest, new customers are supplied with 100% power from facilities that are less than five years old.