The most recent statistics calculate that there are more than 7 million data centers worldwide. That puts the number of servers in the billions. Therefore, when we consider that each server needs energy to run and to keep it from overheating, it’s no surprise that data centers contribute 2% of the world’s carbon emissions every year.

Furthermore, this number is expected to rise to 14% by the year 2040. Therefore, we must start taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint of web hosting.

Fortunately, many hosting providers are taking steps to go green. However, is GreenGeeks, greener than the other web hosts? Read on to find out.

What is Green Web Hosting?

Green web hosting is a hosting solution powered by or offset by eco-friendly resources such as renewable energy.

When hosts use data centers that utilize renewable energy, this reduces their carbon footprint. Alternatively, green web hosts may reduce their carbon footprint by purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).

Each individual REC represents 1MWh of renewable energy generation. In other words, when you purchase RECs, renewable energy is produced on your behalf.

Another way that providers can go green is by purchasing Verified Emission Reductions (VERs). VERs is a certificate awarded to projects that decrease or avoid carbon dioxide emissions in developing countries. These are attained by implementing renewable energy installations like wind or solar farms or hydro plants. A single VER is the equivalent of one ton of CO2 reduction.

Additionally, many green hosts plant trees and implement environmentally friendly policies into their operating procedures. In these ways, they are actively working to offset the greenhouse gases that their data centers emit.

How GreenGeeks does Green Hosting

GreenGeeks.com purchases three RECs for every amperage of energy their hosting produces in partnership with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. In this way, they are offsetting their carbon emissions. Furthermore, for every hosting account they sign on, they plant one tree. Additionally, they have designed their hosting platform to be as energy-efficient as possible, with no waste of resources.

How do other Hosts do Green Web Hosting

A2 Hosting

In partnership with Carbonfund.org, A2 Hosting has neutralized over 2.3 million pounds of greenhouse gases over the last 13 years through carbon offset donations. Additionally, they recycle their servers, use natural air for cooling their servers, and employ SSDs instead of the high energy-using HDDs,

HostPapa

HostPapa has partnered with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to calculate their total energy consumption and replace the equivalent electricity back into the power grid in the form of green energy. Inputting clean energy back into the grid, they are effectively reducing their carbon footprint.

DreamHost

DreamHost supports the environment by using high-efficiency cooling and partially powering their servers with renewable energy. Additionally, their offices are EnergyStar and LEED-certified.

iPage

iPage offsets their carbon footprint by purchasing twice the amount of RECs as the energy they consume.

Kualo Hosting

Powered by 100% renewable and energy, Kualo Hosting is an EPA Green Power Partner. They use energy-efficient servers and have eco-friendly business policies. For example, they are completely paperless, and employees are encouraged to work remotely to avoid creating more pollution through travel.

Fat Cow Hosting

To offset their energy use, Fat Cow purchases renewable energy credits. Additionally, they encourage employees to commute responsibly and to be as paperless as possible.

SiteGround

Through their partnership with Google Cloud, SiteGround has committed to green energy. SiteGround began using Google Cloud to host part of their infrastructure in 2020. Therefore all new US and European customers after this point were automatically added to the Google Cloud platform. All these customers essentially have carbon-neutral accounts because Google matches 100% of the energy it produces with renewable energy equivalents.

InMotion Hosting

Contrary to many hosts on this list, InMotion focuses on reducing their initial energy consumption rather than offsetting. For this reason, their data center in LA uses an air cooling technique that utilizes outside air instead of relying solely on air conditioning.

Is GreenGeeks Greener than Other Web Hosts?

Although GreenGeeks is not the only hosting provider to purchase RECs, they are the only web host that purchases RECs worth three times their energy consumption. As a result, they replace over 615000 KWh of energy per year. Additionally, they are listed as a Green Power Partner of the EPA. This signifies that their efforts are nationally recognized. Therefore, for these reasons, GreenGeeks can be considered the greenest of green web hosts.