Google claims an update to its recently launched ‘region picker’ tool will make it easier for customers to choose Google Cloud Regions with the lowest CO2 output.
The vendor began publishing the carbon characteristics of (most of its) Cloud Regions from March.
But Google has now enhanced a region picker tool launched since then to ensure sustainability information is surfaced at the point customers make their decision.
Regions with carbon-free energy (CFE) of at least 75 percent will now come with a “lowest CO2” stamp and green leaf emblem.
The indicator capability is available to customers as of yesterday on Cloud Run and Datastream, and will begin rolling out to more Google Cloud offerings.
Users who were exposed to the enhanced region picker were 19 per cent more likely to select a “low carbon” region for their Cloud Run service, Google said.
Steren Giannini, Product Manager, Carbon-free for Google Cloud Platform said the results show that by “displaying carbon information in context of when you make the decision of picking a region, we are helping you make more sustainable decisions”.
Google’s ‘us-west1 region (Oregon) currently has the highest CFE at 89 percent, with its europe-west2 region in London sitting at 54 percent.
A CFE figure is currently not yet available for eight of its 24 regions.
Google claims it first achieved carbon neutrality in 2007, but is now targeting operating on CFE “24/7, everywhere” by 2030.
