The Power of Hosting Green
Making changes for the better makes sense. When it comes to promoting a greener
business, Korax found that by using the tools and technologies already at its
disposal, and by implementing a few common-sense procedures, it was easy to help
the environment. And it made business sense, too.
Green tech
Hardware makers like Intel and Western Digital are all about conservation.
Because they create the technology that drives items like web servers, which
are powered for their entire life cycle, they've focused attention on
more energy-efficient components.
Korax has gradually shifted its entire server
farm to servers utilizing the most energy-efficient and coolest running
components. That means substantially less energy used per server than just a short
time ago. Multiply that by dozens of servers, and the green savings are significant.
No paper equals no waste
Korax was one of the first web hosting companies in the nineteen-nineties to develop a
web-based control panel for its customers, and from the start, we understood the
value of a paperless office environment. We've always provided electronic billing
for our customers. And, we've helped customers adapt to a paperless billing cycle.
For our part, we ask for and take advantage of electronic billing from our vendors, either through
e-mail, PDF, or other means.
To help avoid the cost and impact of paper cheques, Korax encourages the use of electronic
payment methods for its services, like credit cards and web banking. And in turn,
through common-sense practices like automated debit and credit bank transactions,
we've reduced our company's use of paper cheques to virtually zero.
Marketing without the environmental impact
Let's face it: ours is an online business. Transactions are electronic, we
communicate with our customers by e-mail, and the very service we sell is about the
kind of marketing that doesn't use paper. We don't need paper-based marketing materials.
We never have.
We've made a conscious decision to avoid producing paper marketing material like
sales sheets, brochures, and other items. Our main source of communication is
e-mail and telephone, so we've reduced the number of business cards our company uses,
and the people who get them. We look for vendors who've done the same, or who
can sell us their products and services without paper waste.
Telecommuting and the virtual office environment
When it comes to the environment, the biggest impact may be transportation and
the fuels it consumes.
Recently, using technologies that are now standard business tools, like VPN, VoIP,
and distributed phone systems, we've been able to ease the commuting burden of
our employees. With simple technology changes and easily implemented procedures,
our telephone and ticket support staff can now work from wherever they are, without
the need to commute.
Taking cars off the road and easing the burden of public transport goes a long way
to creating a truly green-powered business. And it makes very satisfied employees.
