From Carbon-neutral to Carbon negative
We have always felt the obligation to run our business responsibly, and this is why we have taken steps to minimize our carbon footprint. We are proud to say that from 2020 we have become a company that removes more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits.
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We Use Green Energy
We carefully choose our energy providers, making sure that most, if not all of our energy come from renewable (wind, solar, or water) sources.
At the end of 2019, we were serving 79% of the websites in our upkeep with environmentally friendly energy. To offset the carbon emissions for the sites that remain in data centers powered with fossil energy, we have invested in the restoration of swampland. In 2019 our operations were made carbon neutral thanks to a donation to The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation to restore five hectares of land.
In 2019 we moved our server cluster in Sweden to data centers that use 100% renewable energy. The majority of the energy used by the data centers is produced locally in Sweden. Environmental factors have been taken into account in other ways as well, such as in the type of reserve fuel and fire protection.
We Invest in Wetlands
We invest in wetlands as it stores carbon. Through this, we are able to protect the nature that helps reduce global warming.
The biodiversity of our world is in danger. Scientists are claiming that nearly one million animals and plant species are currently in danger of extinction. A recent UN report says that while human activity has wreaked havoc on this planet since the beginning of history, the last 50 years have been unprecedented. According to the report, an average of about 25% of all animals and plants could become extinct within decades. Between the years 1980 and 2000, we lost as much as 100 million hectares of tropical forest.
In recent years, we have witnessed firsthand the devastating wildfires taking place Europe, South America, California, and Australia. We can’t just sit tight and pretend as if all this is happening on some other planet or galaxy. There is no planet B, as there is no plan B – we all have to do our part.
Swamp is nature’s most potent carbon bank. Wetlands in the northern arctic and boreal areas can store large amounts of carbon. Wetlands also accumulate and store carbon within the soil in the form of leaf matter and plant debris. According to the Ramsar Scientific and Technical Review Panel, wetlands cover just 9% of the planet’s land surface, yet are estimated to store 35% of terrestrial carbon.
Since 2020 we have fulfilled our dream of becoming a carbon-negative operation. Seravo became the owner of swampland in Ranua, which is located just below the Arctic circle. We saved 260 hectares of land from being destroyed by a peat mining company. This land is now serving our planet as a carbon sink and will stay wild and untouched to support the plant and animal life that lives there.
Encourage Green Thinking
As a hosting company, we care about the environment and the future in a very concrete way. We have crafted our company policies to reduce our footprint on the environment even further.
Here are some of the things we individually do (and as a company, support and encourage):
- Commute to work by foot or using public transit. On a typical day, none of us come to the office by car.
- The work and office culture – sorting office waste, turning off the equipment after work.
- We are a tech company and already two decades into the new millennium. A lot of the work that we do can be done remotely. No commute is necessary, as some of us prefer to work from their chosen locations.
- We have invested in various tools that many of us need, but do not have to buy separately. We lend these tools to our employees, so they would not have to buy their own, thus collectively reducing the consumption.
Does any of this inspire you? Take a test to see if you can reduce your carbon footprint as an individual or a family.
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Seravo Saves Peatland From Destruction and Becomes Carbon Negative