Why Small and Medium-Size Operators Should Care About Sustainability

Last November, I went to dinner in Belgrade with Jan Žorž, Desiree Milosević, and two engineers that run a small Italian ISP who wanted to learn more about sustainability. Considering that cost is top-of-mind for them as a small operator, they asked me:

1. Why should they, as an operator, care about sustainability?
2. What should they do to integrate sustainability into their operations in a cost-effective way?

Despite dutifully trying to answer their questions, I thought my answers weren't convincing enough.

These are great questions, and frankly, ones that largely go unanswered for smaller operators. So much of the sustainability discussion within digital infrastructure are dominated by large colo providers and the hyperscalers - in part, because of the benefits they offer to economies of scale. Yet, smaller providers still account for a significant share of the market.

It seems they could benefit from more tailored insights, so this got me curious. What if I could put something together to help them out?

"Ah, the perennial question of what SMEs can do about sustainability"

Before I started researching, I reached out to a few colleagues of mine who work on digital infrastructure and data centre sustainability. One of them, John Booth, shared the quote above, reassuring me that it is, indeed, a point of contention for small operators.

The good news, however, is that there were multiple resources out there – they had just never been compiled in one place.

A new guide for the RIPE community

After starting in November and working on it at RIPE's GreenTech Hackathon in December, I am happy to share the first edition of a new resource I compiled for the community:

Digital Infrastructure Sustainability: Recommendations for Small- and Medium-sized Operators in Europe

This resource is my attempt to answer the questions that came up that chilly Belgrade night. It outlines why sustainability should be an important consideration for small and medium-sized operators, offers a detailed look at key resources that can help them integrate sustainability into their infrastructure and operations, features recommendations from two digital infrastructure sustainability experts, includes summaries of recommendations based on five ChatGPT queries, and provides a list of recommended readings and resources.

I cannot stress enough that one of the best things you can do is integrate sustainability throughout your operations, from design of your networks and buildings, to the servers powering them. Every bit counts, and taking a holistic approach to sustainability will always yield the most effective results – especially when coupled with impacts you can make within your community.

Next steps

As a next step, I'd love to condense this initial version into a BCOP document. In case you’d be interested in getting involved, please reach out to us or leave a comment below.

Alternatively, If you find this helpful or are struggling with this challenge, please let me know as well. The document itself was created by me as a labour of love, which is why it has a Creative Commons licence and for non-commercial reasons. I simply hope it can add value, so please let me know if you find it useful.

And remember something I echo over and over: sustainability is not just good for our communities and the planet; it’s good for business, too.