The future of sustainability - is it all blue skies and Green Clouds?
In response to the global climate crisis, a wave of green technologies, expertise and energy sources have emerged, giving rise to a green economy that harnesses technological innovation to tackle the demands of the climate crisis, and drive economic growth. Among the cutting-edge technologies leading this Green IT revolution is cloud-computing, the internet powered phenomenon that has changed the way businesses use IT.
We explore the concept of Green IT further and look particularly at the Green Cloud (the trending eco-conscious approach to cloud computing) and how it seeks to respond to the challenges currently faced by cloud providers and companies looking to transition to cloud based solutions. Plus, crucially how companies can protect themselves against the risks involved with a transition to the Green Cloud.
What is Green Cloud Computing?
Green IT aims to:
- Optimise resource usage to reduce energy consumption
- Address the impact of electronic waste (“e-waste”)
- Design products for extended lifecycles to address the impact of premature hardware disposal
While mass transition to cloud-based services has led to progress being made against each of these objectives, the cloud has presented several new sustainability challenges which cloud providers are on a mission to conquer by implementing the Green Cloud.
The Green Cloud is a sustainable model of cloud computing that focuses on reducing energy consumption while still delivering the benefits the cloud offers. While cloud-based solutions do not require investment in traditional hardware and IT infrastructure, they do still require data centres. Data centres require a lot of energy and, in turn, generate a lot of heat. In its 2022 report, the International Energy Agency set out that data centres account for 1-1.5% of global electricity use.
Design progress has been made via the Green Cloud model. For example, Google Cloud currently utilises AI powered cooling systems to optimise energy consumption in its data centres and reduce the large volumes of water used by current cooling systems. Such design progress has allowed Google data centres to be on average “twice as energy efficient as a typical enterprise data center”. Should other cloud providers follow suit, this could contribute to significant, long-term energy savings.
A general change of attitude by cloud providers towards investment in renewable energy sources like solar and wind power to power data centres has already significantly reduced reliance on non-renewables and lowered carbon emissions. The Green Cloud model also addresses the substantial amount of e-waste created by data centres. With hardware typically being replaced every three to five years, this creates a lot of e-waste which largely ends up in landfills. Such waste contains hazardous materials which pose environmental and public health risks. These risks have been addressed, with many cloud providers now implementing e-waste management processes that ensure electronic components are being properly disposed of, or recycled.
With cloud providers continuing to publish detailed sustainability reports boasting net zero mission statements and ambitious environmental goals, it doesn’t look like the pace of change will be slowing down anytime soon.
What about the legal risks of Green Cloud?
While we edge closer to achieving a completely Green Cloud, there will be a few creases that will need to be ironed out along the way.
Businesses using cloud-based software applications and tools often agree to terms and conditions of use without properly considering the provisions, therefore exposing themselves to significant commercial, legal and data security risks.
Navigating the security risks associated with cloud based solutions is incredibly important, particularly considering that such risks have evolved as the Green Cloud has developed. With data centres relocating to keep up with the transition to renewable energy sources, security protocols have had to adapt to new data security challenges, both physical and digital.
To minimise these new security and privacy risks as far as possible, businesses implementing cloud solutions should carry out thorough due diligence when selecting cloud suppliers. Key questions should be addressed, for example:
- Does the cloud service provider have adequate security and controls to protect against cyber or other incidents?
- Does the cloud computer provider have information security accreditation such as ISO 27001?
- If the location of the data centre is outside the UK, has the cloud provider included the necessary international data transfer provisions in their terms of use?
Additionally, cloud providers and businesses alike must ensure compliance with both data privacy regulations and environmental regulations. They must consider who bears the responsibility when compliance obligations are not met or are breached. Contractual liability for breaches of data privacy obligations can often be subject to heavy negotiation, so all parties involved must ensure that they have carefully considered how much risk they are willing to bear when it comes to data privacy.
A useful starting point for businesses implementing cloud services would be to ask the cloud provider to provide a copy of any external security and data protection compliance audit report. This will help to identify and manage potential risks.
Businesses looking to implement cloud computing technologies will also need to consider the arrangements cloud providers (including third party datacentres) offer, to deal with network and services, delay, blackout or interruptions. To prevent disruption to business as far as possible, businesses should be confident that their cloud provider will provide alternative means for the services and data to be accessed in the event of such failure or interruption.
What does the future hold?
There are certainly blue skies ahead. Although the Green Cloud is still in its infancy, by striking a balance between innovation and environmentally responsible business, cloud providers continue to unlock substantial potential for the green economy.
With the UK Government committing to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, investment in green technologies will likely be at the forefront of decarbonisation. Collaboration between cloud providers, government agencies, and businesses will be key to developing and implementing innovative solutions to achieve these ambitious climate goals.
As cloud providers continue to invest in and adopt more sophisticated recycling systems, and as advancements in areas like artificial intelligence and machine learning lead to greater operational efficiencies, the environmental impact of green technologies will inevitably grow. So too will the legal risks.
So, for cloud providers and businesses currently using cloud-based services, the key questions are:
- How green is your cloud?
- Could it be greener? and
- Are you complying with the law?