Although in an ideal world we'd all be hosted carbon free, it just isn't feasible with current technology. The practicalities of installing large scale wind farms or solar panels close to huge data centres isn't possible.

Does that mean we should carry on with business as usual?

No of course not, where there is a problem there's always a solution. At Green Leaf we don't just follow the crowd, we want to stay one step ahead and lead by example. One of our team is actually a trained research scientist so we put him to work in finding out what was the best possible way we could be a genuine green host.

The solution comes in two parts, one is energy efficiency the second is carbon offsetting.

Energy Efficiency & Technology.

Technology is always improving, processors are getting faster, microchips are getting smaller and memory size is increasing. But that doesn't necessarily mean more power and energy is required. In fact the opposite is often the case and energy efficient servers are now becoming available.

At Green Leaf Hosting our UK servers are located in the BlueSquare Datacentre one of the largest data centres in the UK. They are also committed to going green and have a number of technological iniitatives such as the latest in evaporative cooling.

Carbon Offsetting

When used correctly carbon offsetting is not the evil it's sometimes portrayed in the media. However it's important to understand exactly what a company is doing when it says it's offsetting as not all offsets are equal.

A common practice in offsetting is planting trees. At face value this sounds like a great idea, more trees, more oxygen, less carbon dioxide, everyone's a winner. However delve a little deeper and you'll realise that this isn't always as green as it seems.

Trees shouldn't be planted just anywhere, a number of companies plant trees in the UK or other locations outside of the equatorial regions to offset. As a recent study by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Carnegie Institution Department of Global Ecology showed, this can actually result in a warming of the planet. By planting trees in non-equatorial latitude locations a phenomenon known as the albedo effect can occur.

The albedo of an object is a measure of how much light and energy it reflects. Snow which is white has a high albedo and reflects more energy as a result this has a cooling effect. Trees on the other hand which are darker have a low albedo and absorb energy resulting in a warming effect.

This warming effect is more pronounced in higher altitudes, so planting trees in the UK may not be the best thing to do. If a company is planting trees m sure they are doing it in the right place. The Our World Our Choice Campaign run by the World Land Trust is on the right track  with the aim of planting 100,000 acres of rainforest by 2020 and Green Leaf are proud to support this campaign to aid in our offsetting.

Energy Credits

Another way to offset is to purchase renewable energy credits. This area can be a minefield with a whole range of options, some good, some bad. The idea behind energy credits is that for the non-renewable energy you use from the grid you replace back by buying renewable energy from a renewable source.

At Green Leaf Hosting we endeavoured to make sure we were doing this in the best possible way, so we made sure that the credits used were of the highest standard possible. Our carbon credits are from a UK government approved offset and have met the criteria in their quality assurance scheme. They are as follows:

1. Emissions calculated accurately
   Good quality carbon credits that comply with the Kyoto Protocol and have been verified by the United Nations or the EU’s emission trading scheme
   Credits cancelled within a year of purchase and that the same credit isn’t bought twice
2.