Climate change is on everyone's lips. If you run a website or an online shop, you consume a lot of resources. At Raidboxes we want to counteract this with our green web hosting for WordPress and WooCommerce. About the opportunities and limitations of ecological web hosting offers.
"If the Internet were a country, it would have the sixth-largest electricity consumption on the planet" - that's how a ZDF documentary describes it. There are different studies about how high the electricity demand actually is. One thing is clear: Web hosting gobbles up energy - and produces a considerable amount of CO2 emissions.
Does a faster internet waste more energy?
This does not only apply to the servers themselves on which your WordPress or WooCommerce project is located. The infrastructure of a data centre also requires a lot of resources, from air conditioning to administration to emergency power generators. As a WordPress hosting provider, we need power for, among other things:
- Technical infrastructure
- Office fittings and cleaning
- Office supplies and marketing
- Food
- Mobility/travel
Not to mention that the journey of your information through the internet also costs energy. And if you understandably want to offer your customers a particularly fast portal, you use a high-performance WordPress hosting, which, however, consumes more energy. Services like ecograder.com show you how sustainable the web design but also the hosting of your website is.
Faster websites are better for the environment
Neutral for the planet? Positive for the planet!
Green hosting can't make the energy required obsolete. But it can provide a balance. In principle, there are three options for doing this:
- Ensure the electricity used comes from sources that are as "clean" as possible
- Support projects that minimize CO2 emissions
- Follow an overall sustainable corporate philosophy
Raidboxes uses all three variants for its green hosting, as we want to do more for the common good step by step. See our workshops on the topic. With our renaturation programmes, we not only work climate-neutrally, but climate-positively. More on this in a moment.
When you host with us, you actively contribute to climate protection. In concrete terms, this means:
Trees for the Eden Reforestation Projects
We researched for a long time to find a partner that provides added-value CO2 offsetting. For every WordPress site or WooCommerce shop you host with us, we plant a tree for you. We work together with Eden Reforestation Projects (Eden for short). This non-profit organization works in regions that are particularly affected by climate change and global deforestation.
According to its own information, Eden has already planted over 300 million trees since 2004, in 5 countries with a total of 82 projects. We at Raidboxes have added over 175,000 trees in 2021 alone - thanks to our customers.
New trees for the climate
Our goal for 2022 is ambitious, but together with our customers we will achieve it: 170,000 trees from Raidboxes for the climate. You can help us achieve this.
Eden relies in its projects on the local inhabitants or workers, who are paid from the donations. This is one of the reasons why we chose Eden Reforestation Projects. The organization makes an active contribution to the fight against poverty.
Climate positive projects
In addition to reforestation, we support Greenspark(formerly GetMads). This initiative invests in projects against climate change that are selected according to strict criteria – including the United Nations Convention to Combat CO2 Emissions. The projects Greenspark supports focus on developing countries. This also promotes the social and economic growth in these countries.
Through the partnership alone, Raidboxes currently offsets 40.48 tonnes of CO2 every month by funding certified carbon and plastic offset projects through Greenspark. Here are some examples of what this means in terms of monthly CO2 savings according to Greenspark:
- Offset equivalent of 7700 plastic bottles polluting the seas
- 43 return flights from London to Los Angeles
- Removal of over 300,000 straws or 38,500 disposable plastic cups from landfill
- More than 160,000 kilometers traveled by car
You can find more information about the initiative on the Greenspark project page.
Green electricity from hydropower
Raidboxes uses 100 per cent electricity from hydropower. We are aware that not all green electricity is the same. That is why we pay attention to the following framework conditions with our partners:
- The electricity comes entirely from plants that generate energy from hydropower. Hydropower electricity remunerated under the feed-in tariff is not included.
- Our electricity is produced exclusively in Europe.
- The criteria are certified by TÜV and are subject to annual inspections
WordPress Hosting: Sustainable business
In addition to balancing green hosting, we are gradually implementing a corporate philosophy that emphasizes sustainability in all areas. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Goals that do not focus on profit maximization, but on the benefits for our customers and society. See our vision on the topic of open source and equal opportunities.
- Environmentally conscious products and materials for our office, sustainable food to supply our employees.
- Employee share ownership programmes and concept of holacracy. Read Why there are no more bosses at Raidboxes . Support for home office and remote work.
- Fundraising and social engagement of the team, for example for disadvantaged families or for sustainability.
- Support for customers and dealers or support for the #supportyourlocals campaign in the Corona crisis.
- Internal workshops, for example on non-violent communication (GFK).
- Promoting the mental and physical health of our employees, for example through Mental Health.
We'll continue to work on fulfilling our social responsibility. And we hope the models mentioned here will inspire others to act too.
#GreenHosting: Your questions
Images: Markus Spiske, Taylor Vick, Samuel Zeller @Unsplash
