In recent years, many businesses have begun to look inward and assess their environmental impact, with many taking steps to ensure it is a top priority. 

A shift to the cloud is one change businesses can make to align with their sustainability objectives. However, does your cloud usage and cloud of choice link to your sustainability goals? In this blog, we’ll examine why Google Cloud is the leading cloud when it comes to achieving sustainability objectives, explain the steps Google has taken to create a carbon-neutral cloud platform and explain why sustainability is key to retaining existing customers and attracting new ones.

Why Choose Google Cloud For Sustainability

Google is at the forefront of a sustainable future. Already a carbon-neutral company, it has created a long-term plan to ensure that all Google data centres run on carbon-free energy by 2030, removing 1GT of its carbon dioxide emissions in the process. Google has also increased the number of renewable sources from which it gets CFE (Carbon-Free Energy), recently completing a first-of-its-kind project to run its Nevada data centre using Geothermal energy.

There are also a number of features built into Google Cloud to help businesses track their footprint. Last year, Google launched 'Carbon Footprint for Google Workspace', a tracker that allows companies to monitor and understand the carbon emissions derived using services such as Gmail or Google Drive. Cloud analytics tools empower businesses to gain insights into resource consumption across their operations. This data can help identify areas for improvement and track the success of sustainability initiatives.

Benefits of Aligning With Google Cloud

Today's consumers expect businesses to demonstrate a genuine commitment to sustainability across their entire operations. Aligning with an eco-conscious cloud provider is a strategic move that can significantly enhance your brand image. By partnering with a sustainable cloud solution, you signal to consumers that your business prioritises environmental responsibility alongside profitability. This positioning can foster stronger customer loyalty and partnerships.

What’s more, regulations around data centres, energy usage and sustainability are becoming more stringent. By partnering with a sustainable cloud provider, you will avoid changes to your infrastructure or even unexpected costs down the line.  

Whilst brand image is important, it’s by no means the only benefit of switching to Cloud:

Auto-Scaling: Many platforms offer a scaling platform that automatically adjusts to meet your demands. You pay for what you use, so if you have 200 users, you pay for 200 users. By catering to the right number of users, you minimise waste, save costs and energy, and promote sustainability.

Right-Sizing Resources: It is key to choose the right cloud resources for your workload. By carefully analysing your workflow and cloud resources, you can find the sweet spot between cost and performance, giving you flexibility and putting your business in a healthier and more sustainable position. 

Customer Story

Here at Netpremacy, we recently completed a large migration project for a customer who wanted to ensure that their cloud usage aligned with their sustainability goals. To do so, we decided to house their online infrastructure in Google's data centre in Hamina, Finland. 

This was due to the centre's 97% carbon neutrality and awareness of planned work to reuse heat from the centre to heat homes, businesses, and schools in the local area. Google's interconnectivity allowed us to do this while keeping the relay delay back to the UK to 4 milliseconds, meaning the customer's user still had instant access. 

Assessing Your Current Enviroment & Making the Sustainable Switch

Ensuring your cloud usage goals are aligned with your sustainability goals is crucial. Nothing is more of a statement of intent of your sustainable intentions than a shift to Google Cloud.

Not only is work being done across the world to ensure data centres continue to be highly energy efficient, but what cannot be overlooked is the work being done in areas that haven't been as successful, such as the Asian Pacific, where CFE is much more challenging to obtain or produce, to ensure that in the coming years, these areas will be as sustainable as those leading the charge.

Netpremacy empowers businesses like yours to leverage Google Cloud's carbon-neutral infrastructure and optimise cloud usage for cost savings. It's a win-win for your bottom line and the planet. 

To find out how we can help you achieve sustainable growth, click the button below!