What is eco-friendly?  

Being eco-friendly means adopting behaviors and using products that are good for the environment. This can include reducing waste, saving energy, using environmentally friendly products, and taking public transportation or riding a bike instead of a car. The goal is to reduce the negative environmental impact of one's daily actions.

The environmental impact of web hosting providers

The environmental impact of web hosts is a growing concern. Web servers are used to host websites, web applications and web services. These servers are responsible for storing data, processing user requests and providing real-time response. Continuous operation of the servers is therefore essential to ensure a smooth user experience and constant accessibility, requiring refreshment to avoid overheating. However, this requirement for constant cooling and continuous operation uses a lot of energy and this consumption is expected to increase in the coming years.

It is important to note that data centers that host websites account for 2% of the world's carbon emissions, as much as the aviation industry. According to some studies, the pollution generated by datacenters could represent up to 14% of carbon emissions by 2040. It is therefore crucial that web hosting companies look for ways to minimize their environmental impact and adopt eco-friendly practices. (source : Greenly.resources)

• So how can we reduce these emissions and preserve our planet? 
• What can we do about hosting our sites and platforms to minimize this impact? 

How to find a green web host that suits your needs?

Finding the right green web host for your needs can be a tricky process, but by following a few key steps, you can easily find one that will suit your needs. 

First of all, it's important to define your hosting needs: before looking for a web host, it's important to know how much traffic your website generates, how much storage you need, and what features are important to you.

Once you know what you need, you can start looking for green hosting options: there are companies that specialize in green hosting, just search on search engines to find them. You can also check to see if traditional hosting companies have green programs in place.

Next, ask about the host's environmental practices: It is important to know how the host manages energy, waste and resources. You can also check if the company is certified "green" by a recognized organization.

Finally, test their customer support: It is important to know that you can count on reliable support in case of problems. Don't hesitate to ask questions about the company's green practices to get an idea of their commitment.

By following these steps, you should be able to find a green web host that meets your needs while being environmentally friendly. It is important to note that the environmental impact of online hosting companies is a complex topic, and it is difficult to give a definitive answer on their ecological impact. Therefore, it is important to learn about the company's policies and practices before choosing a hosting company.

Hosting : Good practices to adopt to preserve the environment 

There are several best practices to adopt to reduce the environmental impact of hosting a website and reduce server emissions:

• Use green servers or data centers that use renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power.
• Use energy-efficient servers, which have processors and electronic components designed to consume less energy.
• Use environmentally friendly cooling methods, such as using outside air or sea water to cool servers.
• Use shared hosting to share server resources among multiple websites, rather than having a dedicated server for each site (e.g., use a cloud infrastructure to share server resources)
• Use compression and caching technologies to reduce the amount of data that needs to be transferred between users and the server.
• Optimize images and media files to reduce file size and therefore the amount of bandwidth required.
• Optimize the use and profitability of the server's storage capacity. For example, you can schedule a reduction in server load during off-peak hours. 
• Use virtualization software to share server resources and reduce the number of physical servers needed.
• Use a content management system (CMS) to limit server requests. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to serve static files from servers close to users. Use monitoring tools to track server performance and identify possible optimizations to reduce emissions
• Use SSL certificates to avoid hacks and attacks that can consume a lot of server resources.

Some green web hosts 

There are several web hosting companies that stand out for their commitment to the environment:

• GreenGeeks is a web host that uses renewable energy sources to power its servers and has a commitment to sustainability. It also has a carbon offset program to compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions generated by their activity.
• Scaleway is a web hosting company that provides green hosting services. It uses data centers that use renewable energy to power their operations and has programs in place to reduce its energy consumption. It also has policies in place to manage waste and resources efficiently, as well as to encourage the use of energy efficient hardware.
• A2 Hosting is a web hosting company that employs green cooling technologies to reduce the energy consumption of its servers. It also employs energy saving technologies to reduce their environmental impact.
• SiteGround is a web hosting company that uses green data centers to power their servers. They also use eco-friendly cooling technologies to reduce the energy consumption of its servers.
• Dreamhost is a web hosting company that employs green servers to power its servers. It also has a commitment to sustainability and uses energy saving technologies to reduce their environmental impact.

It is important to note that this is not an exhaustive list, there are other web hosts that are also committed to the environment, so it is important to check the policies and commitments of the host before making a choice. It is also important to check that these hosts offer the features and options that meet your needs.

Conclusion

As you may have noticed, even if digital technology is important in the digitalization of certain operations / activities, its impact on the environment is not negligible, and it is likely to increase in the coming years. The application of these relatively simple good practices will allow you to contribute to this reduction and to think about our planet. 

To learn more about all the trends of what is called Low-Tech, Eco-design, Clean Coding or all the good technical and UX/UI practices to adopt to design a more Eco-Friendly site, please contact us