Cloud computing consumes enormous energy. As infrastructure scales, so does environmental impact. We started measuring and optimising for carbon emissions alongside cost and performance.
The Problem
Cloud made infrastructure invisible—including its environmental cost. Spinning up resources was trivial; understanding their energy consumption was impossible. AWS bills showed dollars, not carbon.
Sustainability initiatives existed but lacked technical depth. Corporate commitments to net-zero didn’t translate into engineering practices. Operations teams had no tools or incentives to consider environmental impact.
Efficiency gains from cloud consolidation were real but partial. Better hardware utilisation than on-premises, yes. But unlimited scaling also enabled unlimited consumption.
Our Solution
Carbon visibility started with measurement. AWS Customer Carbon Footprint Tool provided baseline data. We correlated compute hours with carbon intensity of electricity grids where workloads ran.
Region selection considered carbon intensity. Some AWS regions run on renewable-heavy grids. For workloads without latency requirements, we moved to lower-carbon regions. eu-north-1 (Sweden) versus us-east-1 makes a measurable difference.
Right-sizing revisited with sustainability lens. Over-provisioned resources waste energy, not just money. The same optimisation tools serve both goals. Graviton instances provide better performance per watt.
Scheduling for carbon intensity. Batch workloads shifted to times when grid carbon intensity was lower. Late-night processing in regions with solar generation moved to daytime.
Serverless for variable workloads eliminated idle consumption. Functions that run only when needed consume zero energy when idle. Container-to-serverless migrations for appropriate workloads reduced baseline energy use.
Sustainable software engineering practices spread to development. Efficient code uses less compute. Optimised queries reduce database load. Compressed data transfers consume less network resources.
The Benefits
Measurable carbon reduction aligned with corporate sustainability goals. Engineering contributions to net-zero targets became quantifiable. Executive reporting included infrastructure environmental metrics.
Cost savings accompanied carbon reduction. Efficiency improvements serve both goals. Right-sizing, scheduling optimisation, and serverless migrations reduced bills while reducing emissions.
Competitive advantage for sustainability-conscious clients. RFPs increasingly ask about environmental practices. Demonstrable carbon-aware infrastructure wins business.
Engineer engagement increased around meaningful work. Many engineers care about environmental impact. Giving them tools and metrics to address it improved morale and retention.
Sustainable infrastructure isn’t a separate initiative—it’s an extension of efficiency practices we already pursue. Measure, optimise, repeat. The planet benefits alongside the balance sheet.