Webservations - the Canvas Dreams blog

Canvas Dreams is overly honest about the realities of sustainable web hosting. That is why you will not find any mention of "carbon neutral hosting" or "100% green hosting" anywhere on our site. We are a "sustainable host" -- one that works to balance out and limit the environmental impact of running our service as much as possible -- but we are still mindful of the fact that the equipment, resources, and energy we use cannot be 100% neutralized.

There simply is no such thing as a "100% green" web host in the world -- unless you can show us web servers made of biodegradable plastic and non-toxic metals.  All networking equipment and web servers use precious and toxic metals and materials. Most RAM, motherboards and CPUs used in server components are manufactured with halogen, lead, and mercury -- all of which are environmentally damaging metals and gases.

Solar-powered web hosts often don't take into account that the electricity might be clean, but this does nothing to address the amount of toxic chemicals and metals used in the production of solar panel arrays, which can be extremely concentrated due to the manufacturing process for each solar panel, not to mention the chemicals used in the manufacturing of the battery backup systems. As for the wind farms used to generate electricity for Canvas Dreams? 280 tons of metal go into each Vestas wind turbine at the wind farm we use. The foundation for each turbine requires hundreds of tons of concrete and rock. All of this material is shipped in by truck convoy and shipping freighter with parts from around the world, and that requires inordinant amounts of diesel and gasoline. It can take many years before a wind turbine is able to offset its own carbon footprint and start operating in the black.

All that said, Canvas Dreams believes its commitment to environmental responsibility is one of the more stringent in the industry. We do not purchase green tags from any random source or service. We work directly with Portland General Electric and purchase 100% wind energy from a wind farm just 100  miles up the Columbia River from our data facility. We research and implement web servers that require less energy and create less waste through smaller chassis profiles and components. We have even developed a new line of "greener" mini servers that rival the performance of one of our enterprise-class servers -- yet weighs 90% less, draws 80% less power, has a CPU made with a lead/halogen-free process, and has 95% recyclable/reusable packaging waste.

We operate an extremely efficient NOC (network operations center) 24/7, with many staff members working remote 80% of the time through a secure VPN, distributed phone system, and web-based control systems. This means our company can telecommute 80% of the time, reducing our use of gasoline (or even mass transit) by a similar factor. It is so well integrated, however, that if you ever call for support, you'll never know if you are reaching a support staff member in our downtown Portland office, or from their home -- this is part of our commitment to reducing our impact without sacrificing quality of service to each of our customers.

An aggressive recycling program means we are able to responsibly handle our waste stream with only 1-2% actual disposal that ends up in a landfill. The rest is recycled, or disposed of through a certified e-waste recycler (which literally grinds down motherboards and parts to be turned into new circuit boards and appliances). We are always looking for ways to reduce our footprint in the day to day operations of our business.

Beyond this, Canvas Dreams is working with local efficiency consultants to help advise our customer base how each person/business can reduce waste and operate more efficiently. After all, that is the cornerstone of sustainability. We have many trade shows and speaking engagements coming up this year to help lead businesses and other members of our industry to demonstrate just how simple it can be to run a "greener" business.

Finally, we have a firm commitment to raising the bar on customer service. Any hosting provider can offer power, bandwidth, storage space and server tools. In the many years we have been in operation, we have found that customer service is the single most important service we provide. Helpful, friendly service from people who actually care about your livelihood, the security of your web site, and the success of your business -- those are things many web hosts simply fail to achieve. We have had many interactions with other "green" hosts who completely lack any level of service, up to the point of posting on some industry threads fairly dismissive and disheartening things about former customers. In our minds, you cannot be a sustainable host without the commitment to customer service as well. The two go hand in hand, and that is precisely why we feel Canvas Dreams is true in its commitment to sustainability at every level of the process.

Thank you,

David Anderson
Principal, Canvas Dreams, LLC