In theory, the carbon credit system is an effective mechanism to reduce emissions. But if your net-zero strategy relies on it to offset your company’s carbon emissions, you’re not doing yourself or the climate any favours. Being overly dependent on carbon credits drains your company's financial resources and impedes progress towards addressing the underlying causes of climate change. Why is this, and what are the alternatives?
Carbon credits are an expensive “way out”
Did you know that the price of carbon credits has surged by around 2300% since 2019, recently hitting €100 per credit? And data tells us it’s expected to continue rising in the coming years. This means that if your company relies solely on buying carbon credits as a net-zero strategy, its cost has drastically increased – and will continue to do so. And even if your budget doesn’t reflect the cost, your company still pays the price.
So, what can you do instead? The answer is simple: reduce your company's own carbon footprint. Rather than relying on purchasing carbon credits from ‘green’ projects, you need to adopt measures and take steps to decrease energy consumption, reduce waste, increase energy efficiency, and utilize renewable energy sources. By reducing your company's carbon emissions, the need for carbon credits will decrease, leading to a significant cost reduction for your company.
It’s not a solution to climate change
You might think that carbon credits are the key for your company to continue consuming energy while being environmentally responsible. This isn’t true. Sure, carbon credits allow you to continue emitting carbon while offsetting its emissions by investing in projects that reduce them elsewhere (resulting in net-zero emissions for your company – on paper). However, this leads to a false sense of achievement as, in reality, it doesn’t decrease the overall amount of carbon released into the atmosphere.
Again, instead of buying credits and offsetting emissions to appear sustainable, you need to invest in actually reducing your company’s carbon footprint throughout your entire supply chain – including the way you store and process your data. Only then are you combating the root cause of climate change and making a real difference.
Digitalization (and data usage) is on the rise
Are you aware of the impact your company's digitalization has on the environment? With the increasing demand for computing power, data centers are consuming more and more energy and are expected to account for almost 8% of global power consumption by 2030. This, in turn, translates to a massive carbon footprint – especially for companies that rely on high-performance computing (HPC).
If your company is both utilizing HPC and relying on carbon credits to offset emissions, it may be time to reevaluate your approach. This combination is not only damaging to the environment but also puts a heavy strain on your company's finances. It's a lose-lose situation.
The good news is that there’s a better way. Consider moving your data to a sustainable data center specializing in HPC solutions. These data centers offer the capacity and scalability your company needs to grow while prioritizing sustainability and high performance. By taking this step, your company reduces both its carbon footprint and its operating costs, contributing to a more sustainable future for both the planet and your business.
Want to learn how we at EcoDataCenter help companies reduce their data’s carbon footprint? Read about our sustainable and high-performing solutions for colocation, wholesale, HPC, and supercomputing.
