Sustainable Data Centers & Goals for 2023

Ever wondered how the tech world contributes to climate change? While storing your files within the cloud will likely be more sustainable than printing papers, the servers that store your data can take up a surprising amount of energy.

Data centers, particularly, eat energy significantly and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Luckily, tech firms have the facility to make environmentally responsible selections and go for renewable energy.

At Hostinger, we’re committed to doing our part for the planet. Releasing our initial sustainability report in 2023 helped us discover areas that needed more attention – and electricity sources at our data centers are one in all them.

In 2022, nonrenewable electricity from our data centers accounted for roughly 60% of our location-based scope 2 emissions. We saw room for improvement and started specializing in our data center energy sources and future sustainability goals. We consider that transparency in sustainability matters helps to set us apart in an industry where such disclosures are rare.

Current State of Our Data Centers and Renewable Energy

In 2022, 4 out of nine Hostinger data centers, situated in Phoenix, USA; Vilnius, Lithuania; Manchester, UK; and São Paulo, Brazil, utilized renewable energy, making roughly 35% of our data center energy renewable. In 2023, we added our French data center to the list.

This increased our renewable energy consumption to roughly 43%, marking an 8% improvement. Nonetheless, these percentages can fluctuate as we proceed to expand our server capability. The ultimate number for 2023 will likely be provided in our sustainability report afterward.

Here’s an in depth have a look at our data centers and their used energy:

Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)

On top of constructing our data centers go renewable, we also need to make sure that they’re as effective in power usage as they could be.

One strategy to achieve that is by reducing a metric called Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), as outlined by the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact. The pact has set ambitious targets: by January 1, 2025, recent data centers in cool climates must have a PUE of 1.3, and people in warm climates should aim for 1.4.

Our PUE Scores

Our average PUE rating is 1.4045. Most of our data centers align with the pact’s targets, but there’s room for improvement. We’re actively searching for opportunities to raised our PUE scores and align with the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact.

What’s Next?

Based on our evaluation of renewable electricity and Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), we’re working on an motion plan to administer Hostinger’s environmental impact, set for implementation in 2023 and beyond.

Our plan encompasses several key components, including:

• Searching for ways to spice up the proportion of renewable electricity in our data centers.
• Developing each Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emission reduction plans.
• Establishing a server disposal procedure and registry.
• Formulating a third-party code of conduct to make sure all major suppliers, including data centers where now we have colocation agreements, align with our sustainability criteria.

Moving forward, we’re committed to creating Hostinger more sustainable. We plan not only to cut back our environmental footprint but additionally to set an industry example for responsible business practices.