Pina Earth x STRATO
Being active in the IT industry means not only being part of a solution in the fight against climate change, but also being aware of your own responsibility. With Pina Earth, the web hosting provider STRATO is relying on a partner that enables it to make a valuable contribution to climate protection in Germany over and above its own reduction measures: Innovative technology helps to quantify and increase theCO2 storage capacity of biodiverse mixed forests.
With over 4 million domains and more than 2 million customer contracts, STRATO is one of the largest web hosting providers in Europe. Founded in Berlin in 1997, the company now employs around 500 people and operates two TÜV-certified data centers with over 100,000 physical and virtual servers in Berlin and Karlsruhe.
As part of the IT industry, STRATO has an exciting relationship with the topic of sustainability. The data centers require energy and the computer hardware also consumes valuable resources. At the same time, the company uses digital solutions and innovative technologies to saveCO2.
"Digitalization is advancing in almost all areas of life. Of course, this also has an effect on our industry. We need more resources, especially more electricity, to meet the growing demand. However, we at STRATO do not see ourselves merely as part of the problem, but also strive to be part of the solution. The IT industry should play a key role in the fight against climate change and we want to lead by example and show how we can do so: IT and climate protection are very compatible. That is why we are doing everything we can to drive forward the development of new technologies and data-driven solutions in our field of activity in order to explore new opportunities for effective climate protection and continuously reduce our ecological footprint." - Aisha Petter, Managing Director of STRATO.
Taking responsibility with a view to future social coexistence is part of our corporate identity: STRATO converted its data centers to 100 percent green electricity back in 2008. This was not to be the end of the story. In the same year, an energy management system in accordance with ISO 50001 was set up in the data centers in order to continuously increase energy efficiency. Since 2022, the offices have also been powered by green electricity at a new energy-efficient and climate-friendly location. One year later, an environmental system in accordance with ISO 14001 was introduced in order to also focus on the company's environment.
STRATO is now implementing its own reduction measures with a variety of measures in its data centers and in cooperation with service providers. For example, temporary storage solutions are installed to temporarily store frequently accessed data. This means that backup servers do not have to be kept in constant operation and the required information is available more quickly. In the data center itself, fresh air cooling is also used as a major component in conjunction with conventional cooling systems. Where it makes sense, the range of options is also supplemented by liquid cooling in order to lower energy consumption and thus reduceCO2 emissions: Compared to conventional air-cooled systems, a special cooling liquid is circulated directly through the server units in order to efficiently dissipate the heat generated.
In addition to its own continuous measures, STRATO also considers it important to support climate protection projects . The regionality of the projects is a decisive criterion for the company, which is based in Germany.
"Climate protection is an important issue worldwide and there are many multifaceted projects that are worth supporting in this context. When selecting a partner, it was important for STRATO to find a project that is not abstractly located 'somewhere overseas' - it should be tangible in the living environment of our customers and represent concrete added value there. As one of the project developers in Germany, Pina Earth is also an innovative pioneer in terms of technology, which is a good fit for us. Using technology in a supportive and meaningful way - this vision connects Pina Earth with STRATO - in this case to promote effective climate protection," says Frank Zopp, press spokesman for STRATO.
STRATO is supporting the conversion to a climate-resilient mixed forest over several years in the Kesselsee project, just 25 km from the Berlin site. In the project, around 100 hectares of a single-layer pine forest in Brandenburg are being converted into a near-natural and species-rich permanent forest.
The additional CO2 storage capacity is quantified in three steps using Pina Earth's technology-based approach:
STRATO can track the progress of the project via Pina Earth's forest dashboard at any time. The project and its goals are described transparently here and regular updates are published.
Dr. Christine Rzepka has been Marketing & Communications Lead at Pina Earth since 2023. In her articles, she shares recommendations and practical insights on credible sustainability communication and provides insights into Pina Earth's technology-based approach to regional climate protection. Before joining Pina Earth, she worked in other start-ups in the FinTech and EdTech space, in technology consulting and in academia as part of her PhD in Information Systems.
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