Steadfast going green?

[Karl]

OK, there has been a lot of hype lately about "going green." I understand that much of the hype about going green is more marketing than anything else, but I have been looking into making Steadfast Networks carbon neutral. Instead of just going ahead with it, or not, I figured I would pose the question to our customer base, to see what everyone thinks.

We already make many measures to reduce our electrical usage and other waste, and where we are located we cannot select to go with a truly renewable energy source, thus the best option I see available is buying renewable energy credits or otherwise buying carbon offset credits. Doing so would offer benefits to all our customers, as all would be closer to being carbon neutral themselves, most of our web hosting customers could claim to offer fully carbon neutral services themselves, with just minor contributions of their own. In the end, it isn't just marketing, as there is definitely some environmental benefit from these programs, though I'm not fully convinced they'd make us truly carbon neutral.

What are your opinions? If there seems to be sufficient demand for this, I will definitely consider moving forward.

[Justec]

I dont know how much i trust in those programs. I think CES or E3 or someone did something like that and it seemed to be just a marketing tool.

But I do think its worth looking into to see what options are out there and then make a decision based on those options.

[ManagerJosh]

There's really nothing wrong going green personally. I'd think probably it would be wiser to routinely phase out older technology in favor of stuff that's more power efficent and generate less heat. This way you consume less electricity on the part of servers and controlling the enviornment.

[Karl]

There's really nothing wrong going green personally. I'd think probably it would be wiser to routinely phase out older technology in favor of stuff that's more power efficent and generate less heat. This way you consume less electricity on the part of servers and controlling the enviornment.

We already do do this, as power usage is a major concern of ours. This is mainly do because the space we have basically limits us to how much power we can use, so the more systems we can fit in using the same amount of power the more money we make. In addition to helping our profits, that is also environmentally friendly. The thing is, just taking the simple steps like that doesn't give us any grounds for making ay big claims, such as being carbon neutral, thus I doubt anyone would notice or care much.

[ManagerJosh]

It's too bad you can't install solar panels over on the roof of 350 E. Cernak . Then you could say you're green

[Karl]

It's too bad you can't install solar panels over on the roof of 350 E. Cernak . Then you could say you're green

We probably could, but that would definitely be more than a little cost prohibitive, especially with the cost of roof space at 350.

[NickCatal]

As Steadfast gets more employees you could start offering credits for joining I-GO and ZipCar along with discounts on CTA passes.
Start up a recycling program for cardboard that may be included as part of part orders.
I know dell lets you plant a tree with your order for a small amount, maybe add an option with server setup prices to plant a tree somewhere.
Get 350 to let you turn off the lights in the datacenter when they are not being used. Or have them setup a system where the entire datacenter's lights don't need to be on at once.


Lots of ways to help other than solar panels and carbon offsets.

[Gerry]

I was looking for a webhost when I came across this thread. Everyone has posted a lot of good ideas, and I also noted that sometimes even the best of intentions can get discouraged when things don't pan out (i.e. is it hype/marketing or is it making a difference). I live on the east coast, but still in an area with dense population groups and diverse incomes. I also work for a company that provides green solutions, but I'm not here to sell you on that.

In my experience, the best way to make a difference environmentally is to start in your own back yard. The plant a tree program mentioned above is a great idea. I think that whatever you do, getting a youth program involved is key to making a difference and making it fun for everyone involved as well. Local grade schools are always looking for sponsors to get the kids outside and involved in "earthy" type stuff. It may not be the 'envirothing' of the moment, but your return on investment will be much greater. Good Luck!

p.s. I hear great things about your services.

[Karl]

Right now I believe the plan is to start by putting an option in the order form and making it available to customers to order their dedicated servers "CarbonFree." This way, the cost is mainly passed on to those who find it worthwhile. The program would give customers an easy way to do their part, and if they want, to claim themselves that they are being green. Not only would they be covering their own system/s, but Steadfast Networks would match any contribution by donating to a local Chicago-area environmental group.

We have not yet decided on the company to buy the carbon offset credits from, though we are favoring http://www.carbonfund.org as they seem to check out and appear to be quite popular. We have also not yet decided on the local Chicago area group to donate to/sponsor, so if you have any ideas, I'm all ears.

[NickCatal]

I was searching around and also found http://www.carbonfund.org/ ... Inexpensive carbon offsets and they seem to be popular with companies like Allstate and Discovery Communications (aka discovery channel/animal planet/etc)

A price matching program also sounds great

As for Chicago area organizations, I still like I-Go (igocars.org), the non-profit community car-sharing program. I think carsharing is one of the best ideas out there for reducing people's carbon emissions.

From http://igocars.org/green_benefits
* Each I-GO car replaces 17 cars on the road
* 25% increasing their walking.
* 14.5% increased their biking.
* 17.6% increased their public transit usage.
* 45.9% gave up or postponed purchase of a vehicle or considered selling a vehicle because of joining I-GO.
* Members report driving only 9.6 miles per week, or 500 miles per year, whereas the typical car owner in Chicago drives 10,000 miles per year.
* Of those who did not own a car at the time of orientation, 56% postponed buying a car because of I-GO or gave up a car prior to joining I-GO.