OVHcloud launches carbon calculator

With over 20 years of innovation in developing a sustainable cloud through watercooling at scale, OVHcloud continues to set the bar for industry best practice. Giving customers a better understanding of their cloud infrastructure carbon footprint is aimed at not only providing greater transparency but also encouraging more responsible IT usage across the industry.

The methodology behind the carbon calculator required more than eight months of development, and aims to be exhaustive, by considering factors such as manufacturing down to the component level. Accessible on demand from the OVHcloud customer panel, the tool takes into account the estimated electrical consumption of servers from OVHcloud datacenter monitoring and map them to their carbon equivalent, taking into account the cooling and networking equipment, as well as freight, manufacturing, end of life and waste management, to provide a complete picture of the actual carbon footprint.

The calculator is location-based. As such, the reporting depends on the local power mix, meaning that a server located in a country with a low carbon power mix will result in a different carbon estimate than that of the same server housed in a country with a less favorable mix. 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.

OVHcloud carbon calculator software stack was developed in conjunction with Sopra Steria, while the methodology was audited by IJO, an independent consulting firm specialising in Green IT.

“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.

In line with a strong commitment to sustainability

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, 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 [1] 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 Group 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.