Small businesses are making the biggest impact in reducing the carbon footprint of their business, according to a report by changemakers.com. This is due to a driven consumer demand for more environmentally friendly and transparent businesses.

So, if being eco-friendly isn’t already at the top of your priorities (we know who you are, non-recyclers!) then it you need to get it up there.

While encouraging employees to reduce rubbish and limit the water they waste, there’s an elephant in the room that needs addressing. That server looming in the corner? It’s probably not the most environmentally friendly thing in the room. So how to tackle it? Well, we’re glad you asked.

Using cloud software is a sure-fire way to reduce your carbon footprint and save you energy. We’ve come up with a few ways that dumping that server and using the cloud can help your business become more environmentally friendly:

Reducing power consumption

Keeping your own data safe can be a time consuming and stressful task, especially if you’re not a master in IT. When you’re storing your own data, you’re more likely to keep your server running, resulting in a lot of wasted energy.

Cloud computing cuts wasted energy with a combination of automated processes and IT specialists, who are able to keep servers performing at their best.

By using the cloud you’re also reducing power consumption by sharing hardware with other companies. Plus you don’t have to worry about the maintenance and storing of a big ugly server – it’s a win-win!

Efficient data centres

The data centres that house the cloud technology are also incredibly eco-friendly compared to having individual servers.

Data centres don’t require as much equipment to monitor workflows and systems as having individual servers. This would both save energy and provide companies with flexibility to expand their technology infrastructure.

Servers require controlled temperature and humidity levels that can be difficult to keep consistent in your own office. Data centres mean these conditions are able to be controlled by IT specialists, and keep the servers performing at their best – reducing wasted energy even further.

There’s even a few data centres powered from sustainable energy, so you can sleep even easier knowing you’re doing what you can for the environment!

Less hardware

We’ve briefly mentioned that sharing hardware with other companies through the cloud will reduce your power consumption, but that’s not all.

Less hardware not only means less expense for your company, but it will also reduce production costs, limiting both waste and production energies. Fewer manufacturers creating the hardware will reduce carbon emissions and limit non-recyclable waste.

Shared data centres also employ fewer machines to get the same data capacity, so you can enjoy the same amount of data for half the trouble, as well as a fraction of the cost.

Thinking of switching to cloud accounting? See how Pandle can benefit you and your business here.