What Is Green Web Hosting? Everything Useful To Know

According to temperature data, 2020 was the world’s second warmest year on record. From rising temperatures to the increase of endangered species, the condition of our planet has become more critical than ever.

In response to changing global conditions, companies have implemented environmental-friendly operations throughout their business. Now, you can buy green products ranging from food to clothing.

And green thinking has entered the world of tech. Now, even your website can be ecologically conscious.

We’ve put together the following guide to answer your questions about “What is green web hosting?” and more. So read on!

What Is Green Web Hosting?

Green web hosting, as the name suggests, is a greener, more planet-friendly way for websites to operate. Green web hosting companies aim to provide the same services as traditional ones. But, at the same time, they reduce their carbon footprint.

Green web hosting usually involves producing the equivalent of the energy being produced by the websites. They then return that energy to the grid.

This energy is mainly generated through renewable energy sources. Think solar, wind, and thermal energy.

What if a company doesn’t want to take on the responsibility of producing the energy themselves? They can team up with a green energy supplier.

Green energy suppliers produce eco-friendly energy. Next, they quantify the amount of energy produced in the form of green tags.

They then sell these green tags to companies. They promise to add energy back to the grid on behalf of the web hosting company with the sale.

Because the cost of producing energy is so high, green tags are an excellent alternative for companies who want to support the planet but want to keep their costs low.

Yet another way a company can offset its energy usage is to take part in recycling initiatives that generate carbon credits. These credits help to channel out carbon that they’ve produced.

Green Web Hosting Certifications

There are several ways to document green initiatives. The two most common certifications for green web hosting are Renewable Energy Certificates and Carbon Offset Initiatives.

Renewable Energy Certificate (REC)

RECs stand for Renewable Energy Certificates. They’re also known as Tradable Renewable Certificates, but the most popular term for RECs is Green Tags.

US companies purchase these to prove that a renewable energy source has created one megawatt-hour of electricity then released into the electricity grid.

The companies that sell these Green tags, in turn, generate profit. This profit allows them to cover costs and invest in further green energy initiatives. Over time, the future of green web hosting will become even more advanced.

Carbon Offset Certificate (COC)

Carbon offsetting refers to making up carbon that has already been produced. You’ve probably seen carbon offsetting options when you buy a plane ticket. Airlines will ask if you want to offset the carbon you produced during the flight by purchasing a certificate.

The same logic applies to green hosting companies. By purchasing a VER, you prove that you are eliminating the carbon your business produced elsewhere in the environment.

The main distinction between RECs and VERS is that RECs guarantee clean energy creation. Meanwhile, VERs certify that greenhouse gases have been reduced. The certificate acts as proof that the amount you paid to be reduced has been matched somewhere else in the world.

Benefits of Green Website Hosting

Green website hosting does more than just improve the condition of the planet. Its numerous benefits affect everything from your company culture to your marketing efforts.

Reduced Environmental Impact

The most important benefit of using green website hosting is the environmental impact. The age of information is using more energy than ever before. 20% of all electricity demand will come from information and communications technology like mobile phones and data centres by 2030.

Green hosting plans are designed to reduce emissions. This can be from producing clean energy or reducing carbon output somewhere else in the world. This means that they have a much lower impact on our environment than traditional web hosting.

And consider the rise of online school, remote work, and e-commerce. The internet is only going to become used by more and more people. Taking action on your environmental impact now will mean even more in years to come.

Cost Savings

Using a green cloud hosting platform will also save you on costs. At first, this may seem counterintuitive. How does using energy that has been traditionally more expensive save money?

But because of innovations like Green tags, you can save more on energy costs. Electricity will only go up, especially if you live in regions where rates are already more expensive than average.

Meanwhile, renewable energy sources like solar energy only set you back the equipment installation costs. After, they generate and store energy from the sun that can be used to come.

And if your business uses Green tags instead of being responsible for the equipment yourselves, you won’t have high energy costs.

If anything, your costs will decrease as energy becomes more affordable. This is because popular renewable energy sources like solar energy are subsidised everywhere from the US to the European Union.

Resource Optimisation

Green web hosting is unique in that it can optimise its resources to fit the customer’s needs best.

Whereas traditional web hosting sucks up electricity regardless of the needed power, green web hosts balance the customer’s requirements with the available resources.

Green web hosting has technology that can determine the power a customer needs. After that, it generates the appropriate amount of energy without providing too much or too little.

Enhanced Brand Reputation

Going green with your web hosting won’t just make you feel good. It will also enhance your brand reputation inside and out of your company.

When your team members see that you respect the planet’s future, they’ll show more respect in the workplace. Demonstrating an attitude of compassion will set the example for employee culture. They may even suggest and contribute to company-wide green initiatives on their own.

And your customers will react even more positively. For example, two-thirds of UK residents responded that they want to live in an eco-friendly way in a poll.

They’ll appreciate the option of having a green hosting system. Over time, you’ll likely become the preferred choice over competitors.

Your audience will be more compassionate toward your business because you share values. Say you have a temporary outage or technical difficulty. Customers who respect what you stand for will be more tolerant. 

What’s more, these same respondents expressed their concern that living green would be too costly. When they find out that they can access green hosting web servers at an affordable price, your company’s reputation will skyrocket.

Innovative Technology

Technology is only becoming more advanced, and the planet’s situation becomes more urgent. Naturally, there will be a merge between green web hosting companies and innovative tech.

For instance, let’s look at the nature of cloud computing and cloud hosting. Cloud hosting involves storing digital resources in data centres that users can access at any time.

Cloud hosting becomes green when these data centres use natural resources like solar power or wind to store information. As the environment becomes a more pressing issue, updating these green data centres will become the priority. Meanwhile, advancing data centres using traditional sources of power will become obsolete.

If you’re already using eco-green hosting, you’ll benefit from green technological innovations as they happen. Host your website on a green platform and be one step ahead of your competitors.

Marketing Strategy

More and more businesses are entering the marketplace. It can be hard to distinguish yourself if you keep using your existing marketing strategy.

Should you choose to use green website hosting, you have a built-in marketing tool. You can centre your entire marketing campaign around this unique feature! Green web hosting makes a positive statement about your business’s priorities.

And since green web hosting isn’t the norm, you’ll attract environmentally conscious individuals. You’ll also attract compassionate consumers looking for an alternative to existing hosting options.

Web Hosting: The Environmentally Friendly Way

Now that you can explain the answer to “what is green web hosting,” you’re ready to engage with your customers in an environmentally friendly way. Boost your brand’s reputation by investing in green WordPress hosting!

With the Cosmik Carrot team, you’ll benefit from optimising marketing and web hosting strategies. We’ll walk you through the steps of transforming your digital standing.

Send us a message so we can understand your needs. We’re looking forward to making your website a greener one!