Data center operators have offered mixed reactions to Greenpeace’s How Clean is my Cloud report.

See Focus coverage here: Greenpeace names ‘dirty energy’ data center operators

Amazon:

“As we communicated to this researcher several weeks ago, we don’t disclose this information publicly, but his data and assumptions about Amazon are inaccurate.  Amazon Web Services believes that cloud computing is inherently more environmentally friendly than traditional computing.  Instead of each company having their own datacenter that serves just them, AWS makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of companies to consolidate their datacenter use into a handful of datacenters in the AWS Cloud, resulting in much higher utilization rates and eliminating the waste that occurs when datacenters don’t operate near their capacity.  The cloud enables a combined smaller carbon footprint that significantly reduces overall consumption.”

Microsoft:

Microsoft will not be providing comment on the issue. However, it is suggested you visit the Earth Day blog on the Software Enabled Earth blog as well as the Global Foundation Services blog, which details how Microsoft is working to improve datacenter efficiency.

Yahoo!:

"Yahoo! is committed to being an environmentally responsible company and is proud to have the best Clean Energy Index score in Greenpeace's latest report on clean cloud computing. We agree with Greenpeace that location matters - and we're proud that our site location decision making takes into account the presence of clean power, a great workforce and weather conditions that help us build energy-efficient free-cooled data centers. We believe cleaner power represents a competitive advantage for companies like ours, now and even more so in the future."

Akamai:

Nicole Peill-Moelter, director, Environmental Sustainability, Akamai: “It’s important to note that Akamai received high marks from Greenpeace in the areas of energy transparency and energy efficiency. As our business model relies on collocation partners versus building out our own data centers, we’ve focused our sustainability efforts to date on those areas we can best control. Naturally, as our efforts continue to evolve, we’ll work closely with our partners to advocate for and adopt renewal energy options that make sense for our businesses.”

Facebook:

"We are pleased that Greenpeace recognizes some of the steps Facebook is taking toward a more sustainable future, and we look forward to continuing to work with them on the things we outlined last December." 

Greenpeace's report, How Clean is my Cloud named 15 suppliers.