The Green Web Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that visualises the kind of energy which powers the internet, has certified that the Fairtrade Foundation’s website is hosted using green energy.
The internet uses vast amounts of energy and a significant quantity of that energy is used in data centres where information is stored and processed. Some data centres are more polluting than others depending on whether they commit to using green energy and their overall energy efficiency. We have chosen Google Cloud to host our website because they match 100% of their electricity consumption with renewable energy.
Though they buy enough renewable energy on average to match their data centers’ electricity consumption, that average is an annual average. When they have too little energy, they draw power from the local grid, and that power may not be renewable.
In September 2020, Google Cloud made a commitment to run their business on carbon-free energy everywhere and at all times by 2030.