Cloud computing releases CO2 into the atmosphere, contributing 1% of all global emissions – as much as the entire aviation industry produces every six months.
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services – servers, storage, networking, software, analytics, and artificial intelligence – on-demand and accessed over the internet. It uses server hardware that is owned and operated by Cloud Service Providers, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure, and is characterized by that hardware being shared amongst multiple customers. These services may seem intangible to the user, but they require a vast physical network of data centers that consume increasing quantities of energy.
Emissions are the greenhouse gases released when fossil fuels are burned. These gases trap heat within the Earth’s atmosphere, causing global warming. There are seven greenhouse gases, all of which are released in the process of delivering cloud computing services. However, they are colloquially referred to as ‘carbon emissions’, because carbon dioxide (CO₂) makes up 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions (EPA, 2024). Cloud computing emissions are therefore measured in kilograms of ‘CO₂ equivalent’, a measure that factors in the damage caused by one unit of each gas compared to CO₂.
Tailpipe is one of the first organizations focused on measuring the carbon emissions of cloud computing. Its methodology calculates how much carbon is released during an organization’s use of cloud computing services and suggests methods that make cloud computing more carbon- and cost-effective.
Operational Emissions
CO2 emissions from cloud computing can be categorized in two ways: operational emissions (resulting from the energy needed to power the running of data centers) and embodied emissions (resulting from the energy needed to manufacture, transport and dispose of computing hardware).
Data centers are usually powered by national power stations – though a minority generate their own electricity. If a data center’s electricity is generated in a power station that burns fossil fuels or biomass, it will create carbon emissions. The more energy the data center demands, the greater the associated emissions. The rapid expansion of cloud computing in recent years has released hundreds of millions of tons of CO₂ (IEA, 2023).
The most effective way to reduce cloud computing emissions is therefore to power data centers with clean, renewable energy. Data centers based in countries with clean energy grids, such as Norway, Paraguay, and Nepal (Energy Monitor, 2023), will generate next to zero operational emissions. Tailpipe can help organizations identify data centers in the cloud that are powered by clean energy sources, eliminating unnecessary operational emissions as soon as services move to those lower carbon locations. Tailpipe can also suggest more energy efficient cloud services or configurations, which reduce a data center’s overall demand for electricity.
Embodied Emissions
The other form of CO2 emissions generated by cloud computing is released during the manufacture, transport and disposal of the hardware that hosts cloud services. Despite the name, cloud computing requires much of the same physical hardware as a laptop or PC, albeit modified for its specialized role of operating in the cloud. Embodied emissions therefore represent the greenhouse gases required for – or embodied in – physical devices.
The embodied emissions of cloud computing are generated in four ways – extraction, manufacture, transport, and disposal – across a complex supply chain.
Extraction: machinery that extracts the raw minerals that make up computing hardware.
Manufacture: energy generation for hardware manufacturing plants.
Transport: vehicles that move hardware and minerals from source to customer.
Disposal: hardware decaying in landfill at end-of-life.
As an example, consider a server in a data center. This server is comprised of multiple electrical components, as well as metal and plastic casing and cabling. Just one of those components – for example, a single CPU – is made from raw minerals and crude oil extracted from the earth and transported to facilities for refinement. These are then transported to a CPU manufacturing plant, and the finished CPU then transported to a server manufacturing facility. This server is then transported to a data center, where it is operational for around six years. When it reaches the end of its operational life, it is again transported to landfill, where it releases methane, a greenhouse gas, as it decays.
The best way to reduce the embodied emissions of cloud computing is largely the responsibility of cloud service providers, who must work to extend the lifespan of their hardware and to recycle components as often as possible. However, Tailpipe can suggest cloud services that will more efficiently fulfil an organization’s needs. This can reduce the quantity of hardware required, creating less demand across the carbon-intensive supply chain.
To Sum Up
Cloud computing has allowed organizations to remove computing hardware from on-site, but this does not remove their responsibility for carbon emissions. Organizations must take accountability for their environmental impact in all forms, part of which involves transparently monitoring how their use of cloud computing generates emissions.
Tailpipe exists to help organizations to do so: to understand where their emissions are coming from, to quantify in kilograms of CO₂ equivalent how much carbon they have produced, and to take action to reduce their emissions effectively and efficiently. To discuss what Tailpipe can do to measure and reduce your cloud computing spend and emissions, get in touch with us here.
