Sustainability in the cloud: reducing the ecological footprint with STACKIT
Is it possible to make digital processes not only faster, but also more climate-friendly? Yes, because cloud solutions not only have an impact on productivity and innovation. They also determine how energy and resources are used: and therefore the ecological footprint of your company.
The way in which companies use digital services, data and hardware influences their CO² emissions. Since renewable energies and energy efficiency have become decisive competitive factors, it is worth taking a look at the cloud. To be more precise: the cloud infrastructure. This is where intelligent services, high security, modern data protection and consistently sustainable operation come together.
Would you like to know what measures we as a cloud provider at STACKIT are taking to make the future greener? Here you will find all the information, tools and best practices relating to climate-friendly cloud services. Find out how IT and environmental awareness go hand in hand in 2025.
Key terms relating to cloud sustainability
- Cloud sustainability: The ability of cloud infrastructures to provide IT services and products in a resource-saving, energy-efficient manner and with the lowest possible carbon footprint.
- Cloud computing: The provision of IT resources, such as computing power, storage and applications, via the internet. Sustainable cloud computing means using these resources in the most energy-efficient and resource-saving way possible.
- Corporate data centers: Companies’ own or rented server locations. The energy efficiency of data centers is crucial for their environmental footprint.
- Resource management: Intelligent control of computing, storage and network resources to avoid overprovisioning and wasting energy.
- Energy efficiency: The ratio of energy used to the computing power actually used – the more efficient, the more climate-friendly.
- Green IT: All measures that minimize the CO² emissions of IT infrastructure and software.
- Sustainable development: Continuous improvement of products, services and processes with a view to the environment, society and the economy.
- Monitoring & reporting: Tools and processes with which you can measure and optimize your energy consumption and CO² emissions in the cloud. Precise analyses can be used to manage the company’s ecological impact.
- PUE value (Power Usage Effectiveness): Key figure for the energy efficiency of a data center. A low PUE value – such as 1.1 at the Ostermiething site – stands for particularly resource-efficient system operation.
Cloud sustainability with STACKIT: your benefits at a glance
Today, sustainability is more than just a green label. It is a decisive competitive factor. It is also a legal obligation and a strategic lever for sustainable business. But what are the concrete benefits of switching to the cloud for your company and for the climate?
Improve your carbon footprint – measurably and transparently:
STACKIT operates its cloud platform in energy-efficient data centers with 100% renewable energy – including smart cooling and automated load balancing. This significantly reduces electricity consumption and enables companies to transparently record their CO² emissions, reduce them in a targeted manner and reliably achieve their sustainability goals.
Optimize resources instead of wasting them
Thanks to dynamic scaling and automated resource management, companies only use as much computing, storage, software and hardware as they actually need. This lowers costs, saves energy and reduces the ecological footprint during ongoing use.
Sustainable data protection with digital sovereignty
STACKIT processes all data in compliance with the GDPR and exclusively in the European legal area. Short access paths, high security and an energy-efficient cloud service make data protection and sustainability a strong double for companies and public institutions.
Future-proof technologies
STACKIT relies on modern technologies, artificial intelligence and smart tools to automatically control power consumption and resource usage. This keeps your cloud environment efficient, scalable and environmentally friendly.
Suitable solutions for every sector
Whether administration, digital health, industry or e-commerce – STACKIT offers sustainable solutions that adapt flexibly. With a scalable service, tested infrastructure and clear information, sustainable digitalization succeeds in every sector.
Cloud sustainability in detail: how to achieve your climate goals with STACKIT
How does sustainable cloud computing work in practice? STACKIT takes a holistic approach that goes beyond mere efficiency measures. From IT architecture to regular operations and product development, all measures are interlinked. With the aim of permanently reducing energy, resources and CO² emissions. Find out here how you can benefit from our technical innovations.
Consistently green: energy efficiency right from the start
STACKIT plans its cloud solutions sustainably – from the choice of location to daily operation. One showcase project is the DC 10 Ostermiething data center in Austria. There, we use water from a nearby river for cooling all year round. In combination with hot water cooling, waste heat recovery and state-of-the-art technology, the site achieves a PUE value of just 1.1 – a top value by European standards.
The data center was awarded the gold certificate by the Austrian Sustainable Building Council (ÖGNI) for this resource-saving overall concept. The permanently low energy consumption reduces CO² emissions over the entire service life of the infrastructure.
Intelligent load distribution: resources tailored to demand
With automated resource control and dynamic workload distribution, STACKIT ensures that servers and storage are only active when they are needed. This principle avoids idling, saves energy and supports resource-conserving cloud usage – efficiently, flexibly and environmentally consciously.
Virtualization & software efficiency
STACKIT also focuses on sustainability at the software level: hardware resources are better utilized through virtualization and container technologies. Supplementary orchestration tools help to further optimize consumption – for a scalable, powerful and energy-efficient cloud infrastructure.
Green electricity and regional added value
All STACKIT data centers are operated with 100% green electricity from certified sources in Germany and Austria. This reduces emissions, strengthens the regional economy and ensures a transparent energy balance, which can also be clearly shown in the CSR or sustainability report.
Long-lasting hardware, less electronic waste
STACKIT relies on durable, energy-efficient hardware and specifically avoids overprovisioning. Fewer devices mean less electronic waste. A clear contribution to the circular economy that further reduces the ecological impact of the cloud.
Certified security meets sustainability
All STACKIT data centers meet international standards such as ISO 27001 and guarantee data security, transparency and compliance. By operating exclusively in Germany and Austria, all data remains in the European legal area. This is a strong signal for digital sovereignty and responsible cloud use.
How cloud sustainability works in practice
STACKIT supports companies and organizations in making their IT sustainable, efficient and responsible. Selected practical examples from various sectors – from the public sector to digital SMEs – show what this looks like in practice.
Public administration: save energy and remain sovereign
A German municipality has moved all of its administrative applications to the STACKIT Cloud. A step that not only modernized the IT, but also reduced the power consumption of its own server rooms by over 40%. This was made possible by switching to centralized, highly energy-efficient data centers with smart cooling and optimized operation.
Thanks to precise monitoring, the local authority can now record, document and specifically reduce the power consumption of its IT for the first time. All data remains within the European jurisdiction – a key advantage for digital sovereignty and compliance with municipal data protection requirements.
Digital health: green infrastructure for sensitive data
A company specializing in medical software relies on the STACKIT cloud infrastructure for development, hosting and data management. By using green electricity, energy-efficient hardware and dynamic scaling, the company reduces several tons of emissions every year – without compromising on availability, performance or security.
Adherence to KRITIS standards, GDPR requirements and industry-specific compliance guidelines is fully guaranteed – a must for sensitive healthcare data.
E-commerce: grow flexibly, remain sustainable
A fast-growing online retailer operates its entire e-commerce platform in the STACKIT cloud, combining high scalability with measurable sustainability. Thanks to automated resource management, server capacities are only made available when they are actually needed – for example during seasonal peaks or promotional campaigns.
This demand-based control saves energy, reduces operating costs and helps the company to actively reduce its ecological footprint even in phases of rapid growth – without sacrificing responsiveness or the user experience.
Practical tips for your entry into sustainable cloud solutions with STACKIT
Sustainability in the cloud starts with the right decisions. These can be integrated step by step into your own everyday IT routine. The following tips show you how you can make targeted use of the potential of the STACKIT cloud infrastructure to effectively reduce your energy consumption, emissions and use of resources: without compromising on security, performance and transparency.
- Record and optimize energy consumption: Use STACKIT’s integrated monitoring tools to accurately record the consumption of your cloud services. This allows you to identify potential savings at an early stage and initiate targeted measures to increase efficiency, for example by shifting loads or consolidating resources.
- Distribute workloads intelligently: Rely on automated resource management! Have unused servers or storage units switched off automatically and scale your applications dynamically according to actual demand. This not only saves energy and costs, but also makes your IT more agile and future-proof.
- Integrate sustainability into the IT strategy: Embed sustainability as an integral part of your IT strategy. Define measurable targets for energy efficiency or CO² reduction and use STACKIT’s reporting functions to regularly document progress and consistently achieve your strategic sustainability goals.
- Focus on renewable energies: When choosing your cloud environment, make sure you use 100% renewable energy. STACKIT operates all data centers with certified green electricity. This is transparent evidence that you can include in your environmental balance sheets or CSR reports.
- Thinking data protection and sustainability together: Data protection and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. Efficient, GDPR-compliant data processing in a European cloud infrastructure strengthens your legal position and reduces the consumption of resources at the same time. This benefits you both ecologically and from a regulatory perspective.
Cloud sustainability with STACKIT: your path to a greener future
STACKIT paves the way for our customers to a sustainable cloud solution that intelligently combines cost-effectiveness, security and environmental protection. Companies and public institutions benefit from a high-performance, scalable and energy-efficient solution that makes digital operations measurably more environmentally friendly.
STACKIT makes sustainability in the cloud not only possible, but actively manageable. Whether through renewable energies, intelligent resource management, certified data centers or transparent reporting tools.
Anyone who invests in a green cloud environment today is ready for sustainable climate protection in 2025 – and beyond. Our products and services will support you.
Frequently asked questions about cloud sustainability from STACKIT
How can I measure my consumption in the cloud as a company?
STACKIT offers monitoring and reporting tools that allow you to transparently track the energy consumption and CO² emissions of your cloud services and optimize them in a targeted manner.
How does STACKIT support customers in implementing sustainable IT strategies?
With consulting, monitoring tools and intelligent resource management, we help you to make your ecological goals in the cloud measurable and achievable.
What sets STACKIT apart from other cloud providers in terms of sustainability?
STACKIT combines certified data centers, GDPR-compliant data protection and the consistent use of renewable energies. This positions us as one of the few cloud providers that consistently focus on environmental management, security and regional responsibility.
Is an ecological cloud solution more expensive than conventional solutions?
On the contrary: thanks to efficient resource management and the elimination of in-house server rooms, STACKIT can often even save costs. At the same time, the ecological footprint is significantly reduced.
