OVHcloud, a leading European cloud provider, has launched a carbon calculator for its IaaS customers, delivering monthly reports on their cloud-related carbon emissions. Leveraging over two decades of sustainable cloud innovation, including large-scale watercooling, OVHcloud sets industry standards and aims to enhance transparency and promote responsible IT usage by helping customers grasp their cloud infrastructure’s carbon footprint.
Accessible through the OVHcloud customer panel, this tool calculates the carbon footprint of servers based on their estimated electrical consumption in OVHcloud datacenters. It considers factors such as cooling and networking equipment, transportation, manufacturing, end-of-life, and waste management to provide a comprehensive view of the server’s actual carbon impact. The calculator is location-specific, meaning it factors in the local power mix, resulting in different carbon estimates for servers in regions with varying power sources. By the end of the year, the market-based information will complement carbon calculator reporting, highlighting the Group’s commitment when it comes to power mix decarbonation.
“As a major tech player in Europe, we have a key role to play in supporting a more sustainable digital landscape across the entire value chain, including employees, clients, suppliers and partners. That’s why we are delighted to have contributed to the creation of the OVHcloud carbon calculator, which enables businesses to assess the environmental impact of their cloud activities. We are proud of the trust placed in us to play an active role in this decarbonisation initiative” said Fabienne MATHEY-GIRBIG Executive Director Corporate Responsibility & Sustainable Development at Sopra Steria.
OVHcloud has long developed a vertically integrated industrial model with most of its datacenters being built and owned by the Group, featuring proprietary innovations, and leveraging two factories located in Croix, France, and Beauharnois, Canada, to build its own designed servers, providing total control over the value chain. This unique approach means that in a ten hours period under full load an OVHcloud server requires just one glass of water to be cooled[MOU2] , when many servers on the market need seven times more. OVHcloud’s innovation also enables it to reach an average global PUE of 1.28, lower than the 1.55 industry average according to 2022 estimates.
These water usage effectiveness and power usage effectiveness scores are amongst the best in the industry. They pave the way for future certifications while the newly launched carbon calculator clearly demonstrates OVHcloud’s commitment to a sustainable cloud.
“With sustainability rooted in our DNA, we constantly challenge ourselves to improve the carbon footprint of our overall operations. We are more than ever aware of the importance for our customers of calculating their carbon footprint as accurately as possible. We are therefore extremely happy to give them a precise reading and understanding of it, all with a single click of the mouse.” said Michel Paulin, CEO OVHcloud.
All in all, OVHcloud Carbon Calculator provides customers with transparent and exhaustive (scope 1, 2, 3) carbon footprint information from manufacturing to infrastructure run. The Groupe is the only cloud provider to offer life cycle analysis at a component level on top of the carbon footprint of the cloud service consumption.
