iWeb Communities: Blog

Today is Earth Day, an opportunity to think globally on climate change, a sustainable future, and to think how our current uses & lifestyles impact the planet.

How important is being green in web hosting? After all, we are just moving electronic bits around, and it doesn’t look like the automobile or the steel industry. Still, a recent study shows that 78 percent of shoppers value green websites, which means that if you are doing business online (or even if you only have a simple blog), it’s important to enquire how your web hosting company view the environment and energy efficiency.

First, we do site-wide recycling in iWeb’s 3 data centers. iWeb also uses RoHS motherboards since 2006, which do not contain harmful substances like lead, cadmium, or mercury, as opposed to normal motherboards.

Of course, a web hosting company’s environmental impact is linked essentially to power consumption required to power the servers and utilities 24/7, all year round. To this effect, all of iWeb’s data centers are powered with renewable, clean energy, from Hydro-Québec, which produces electricity with from hydro-electric dams.

Since iWeb is also located in Quebec, Canada, we also need much less air conditioning to cool the hot air produced by the servers, as opposed to data centers that would be located in cities like Dallas or San Francisco.

Recycling, toxin-free materials, renewable energy, efficient power consumption, those are all the areas where iWeb does make a difference. Next time you consider purchasing a web hosting solution, do think about the green efforts of this company