A new resource dedicated to small and medium-sized digital infrastructure providers highlights the benefits of incorporating sustainability into their operations, offers a consolidated list of best practices and recommendations, and shares additional resources to help them make practical changes to save time, energy, and money.

Last November, I went to dinner in Belgrade, Serbia, with two engineers who run a small Italian ISP and 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 is 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 center 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 small operators

I’m happy to share the first edition of a new resource I compiled: 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.

While it is addressing European operators, the recommendations it provides are widely applicable.

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.

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 labor of love, which is why it has a Creative Commons license 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.