Cloud sustainability: Greater transparency needed as the channel makes progress on Scope 3

From a partner perspective, the more data we have to share, the more we'll use it creatively," says Chris Bunch, CEO of cloud consultancy D55

Cloud hyperscalers are becoming more transparent on key sustainability metrics, according to the newest edition of CRN sister brand, Computing's latest Cloud Sustainability Matrix.

For the second year running, Microsoft Azure eked out a narrow victory across an aggregate score measuring its compliance with ESG standards and policies, carbon emissions, energy and water use, waste generation and the circular economy, as well as transparency.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) followed closely behind.

While the vendors are making, albeit small, moves across sustainability, these changes are unlikely to determine partner and purchasing decisions.

"I don't think I've seen it be the deciding factor between Cloud A and Cloud B (where a mix of price and cultural alignment are still the biggest factors), but certain buyers are definitely interested and asking more challenging - and better educated - questions of the vendors," said Chris Bunch, CEO of AWS consultancy, D55.

"UK public sector, in particular, puts a stronger weighting here, as do listed businesses. In both cases, I suspect due to formal reporting requirements. We see less interest in the SMB and mid-market space, as a generalisation. Clearly some companies are very passionate about the topic, but that's my high-level perspective."

What gets measured, gets managed

As hyperscalers improve the way they report data, e.g. by disaggregating cloud data from the rest of the business, improve their transparency around waste and the circular economy, as well as generally – the channel is finding creative ways to apply this information.

Some notable use cases for this information could be environmental impact dashboards, on which we've seen some movement over the past year. These include firms like OVHCloud and Logicalis coming out with visualisation tools in 2023.

"From a partner perspective, the more data we have to share, the more we'll use it creatively and I'm sure that applies to everyone. We spend a lot of time solving data challenges for clients, and I'm a believer that measuring something is the first step to improving it", comments Bunch.

"For example, as the reporting and data insight continues to evolve, one could see an evolving FinOps style discipline evolving where carbon optimisation was the primary aim, with cost as a supporting benefit."

Cloud sustainability data and Scope 3

The need for clearer emissions data has been brought into sharp focus by partners looking to reign in their own Scope 3 emissions ahead of a potential requirement to do so in the UK.

At the moment, the UK's SECR policy only requires emissions from vehicles used for business travels to be reported under Scope 3, but partners are busy preparing for more legal enforcement.

In recent months, several partners, including Westcon-Comstor, Daisy Corporate Services and TD SYNNEX, among others, have raised the availability and clarity of data from suppliers as a key factor in measuring and narrowing Scope 3 emissions.

"We recognise the need to de-couple our business growth from emissions growth, which is why we are prioritising engagement with our vendors and partners, including improving the robustness of our supplier emissions data with a particular focus on their products," Westcon International CEO David Grant stated on the release of the group's Responsible Business report in October.