100 points to know about...
Eco-Design Web Development

Now we know that our website content eventually ends up living in some data centre.
These centres are the most energy-hungry facilities. The International Energy Agency estimates that 1% of all global electricity is used by data centres and that by 2025, they will consume 1/5 of the world’s power supply. The largest part of the energy goes to powering the servers, but they in turn produce heat and need to be cooled.

Green Web Hosting

To reduce data centres' energy consumption and CO2 emissions a smart combination of technology and innovation is required. This is where Green Web Hosting emerges.

Green web Hosting refers to web hosts that try to minimize the negative environmental impact. How do they do it? Mostly by using renewable energy and carbon offsets.

As data centres usually don´t produce their own energy but rather depend upon their energy provider, they cannot dictate how the energy should be produced. But they can buy certificates that prove the green origin of the energy.

REC & VER Certificates

There are 2 main types of certificates:

• REC standing for Renewable Energy Certificate or Renewable Energy Credits. Companies that specialize in producing renewable energy issue these certificates. When a web host buys this certificate, they can confirm that they have helped in the generation of a certain amount of renewable energy.
• VER standing for Voluntary or Verified Emission Reductions. These are carbon-offset certificates proving that greenhouse gases have been reduced somewhere in an equivalent amount as the certificate states.

Besides the efficient hardware, software efficiency is also important. So ask your potential web host whether they provide technologies minimizing server load, such as:

• The latest version of PHP. PHP (Hypertext Processor) is a programming language run on a web server. It helps make web pages more interactive.
• Service-side-caching technologies like Varnish. Website caching is the process of storing a copy of a website in a temporary location. It helps the web pages to load faster.
• Static page generators for CMS based websites like WordPress or Drupal. You will learn more about CMS, static and dynamic websites in Lesson XIII.

When you look for a web host, do a little bit research. Check their sustainability credentials and ask them about their sustainability approach: do they have REC or VER, or maybe they have their own renewable energy generation (solar systems, wind turbines) or do they have direct renewable energy supplies from other local providers.

The best place to look for a green web host is The Green Web Foundations Directory (https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/directory/ ). It includes a list of 389 green hosting companies in 28 countries. The companies can provide proof of their green claims. This directory service is free.