Towards Sustainable Cloud Computing: A Comparative Evaluation

of Carbon Footprint Calculator Tools

Eshita Sohani

and Malav Agrawal

School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, U.K.

School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, U.K.

Keywords: Sustainability, Cloud Computing, Green Computing, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Footprint Calculator Tools.

Abstract: As modern businesses grow; cloud computing has become an indispensable tool thanks to its scalability and

convenience. However, it is essential to recognize the severe impact it has on the environment. Our study

delves into the various carbon footprint calculator tools provided by major players in the cloud industry. By

comparing and contrasting these tools, we shed light on their limitations and strengths, including crucial

aspects like data precision and geographical variations. These tools, however, provide valuable information

but fail to include critical features like real-time tracking of carbon emissions and personalized alerts to

indicate threshold crossings. We also stress the need to monitor other aspects, including often neglected water

utilization and the carbon footprint of these tools themselves. Our analysis suggests combining machine

learning to optimize carbon offsetting measures and calculate carbon footprints dynamically. Furthermore,

cloud providers could integrate real-time monitoring and custom alerts to enhance the user experience. This

study not only analyses the tracking of carbon emissions but also encourages users to actively address their

environmental impact. This critical area of sustainability demands that organizations assess and reduce their

carbon footprint in the Cloud. This can be achieved by adopting eco-conscious cloud computing practices.

This paper offers a comprehensive guide on the subject, including a roadmap for further research. Its

conclusion affirms the importance of addressing cloud computing's environmental impact.

1 INTRODUCTION

Contemporary technology infrastructure is built on

cloud computing in today's digital age [1]. Amidst the

digital world's constantly shifting landscape, the

scalability, efficiency, and adaptability of cloud

computing drive business innovation and process

optimization. However, the often-neglected

environmental impact of cloud services warrants

deeper consideration, especially with the world's

growing dependence on cloud solutions [2]. Aiming

to minimize their environmental impact and increase

their sustainability efforts, organizations globally are

prioritizing the reduction of their carbon footprint in

the face of mounting imperatives to combat climate

change [3]. The environmental impact of cloud

computing compared to traditional on-premises

computing solutions is significant. For instance,

https://orchid.org/0000-0002-7062-1107

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Microsoft's cloud is 93% more energy-efficient and

98% more carbon-efficient than on-premises data

centers. Similarly, Google managed a 550% increase

in cloud data centers from 2010 to 2018, with only a

6% increase in energy consumption.

The IT sector's energy consumption and carbon

emissions, encompassing cloud services and data

centers, have been intensely scrutinized [4][5]. As

such, cloud providers have commendably optimized

their operations to address these concerns. A crucial

question arises amidst these efforts to promote

sustainability. How can organizations accurately

measure and reduce the carbon emissions associated

with cloud usage? This is where carbon footprint

calculator tools come into play.

These tools, available from major cloud

providers, are designed to provide data-driven

insights into the carbon footprint of cloud services.

By offering this information, they empower eco-

conscious decision-making and support efforts to

reduce carbon footprint. The realm of carbon

footprint calculators is far from standardized. Every

Sohani, E. and Agrawal, M.

Towards Sustainable Cloud Computing: A Comparative Evaluation of Carbon Footprint Calculator Tools.

DOI: 10.5220/0013312100004646

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Cognitive & Cloud Computing (IC3Com 2024), pages 90-98

ISBN: 978-989-758-739-9

significant cloud provider has their rendition of these

instruments. They diverge in their accessibility to

data, frequency of updates, precision of values,

regional categorization, and how they display

summaries of emissions and savings. Although these

tools provide helpful observations, they each have

advantages and drawbacks. Our research paper takes

a thorough expedition into the realm of cloud carbon

footprint calculators. The approach involves

meticulously examining the tools provided by various

cloud service providers. Customer Carbon Footprint

Tool offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS),

Microsoft Sustainability Calculator provided by

Azure Cloud, Carbon Footprint from Google Cloud

Platform (GCP) and IBM Cloud’s IBM Cloud Carbon

Calculator are analyzed extensively in this work. The

name of the cloud service provider and the name of

the tool offered by it are used interchangeably

throughout the text, unless stated otherwise.

Through this process, we conduct a comprehensive

comparison to uncover the subtleties that differentiate

each one. The goal is to equip individuals and

organizations with a thorough understanding of these

tools to make informed decisions and take steps

towards reducing their carbon footprint when

utilizing and providing cloud services. Our

exploration continues even after this point, and as we

further examine the inner workings of these

calculators, we discover significant deficiencies in

their capabilities. We bring attention to the absence of

a facility for real-time monitoring of carbon

emissions, the incapacity of users to establish

personalized threshold alerts and other ecological

factors that are usually sidelined. Moreover, our

vision for the future involves the progression of these

tools to provide users with the data and practical

methods to counteract their negative impact on the

environment [6]. We propose integrating machine

learning for dynamic carbon footprint calculations

and optimizing carbon offsetting measures. The

vision is to measure emissions and actively engage

users in mitigating their environmental impact.

The study presented in this paper emphasizes that the

only way to reduce the environmental impact of this

growing cloud services industry is to do it passively

by reducing energy consumption and emissions.

Unlike other sectors like manufacturing, active

carbon capture at the source is not feasible. The

remaining paper is organized as follows. Section II is

structured into four parts. Part A details the four cloud

providers' carbon footprint calculation tools. Part B

outlines the sources of data used for comparing these

tools. Part C introduces the comparison framework

that guided the evaluation process. Part D elaborates

on the broader methodology employed for calculating

carbon emissions. Section III presents results and

analysis based on a comprehensive evaluation of

various factors. Section IV outlines potential future

work to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of the

tools for better practical implementation and broader

impact. Finally, Section V concludes the paper.

2 STUDY

The methodology employed in this research paper is

designed to comprehensively compare and evaluate

the carbon footprint calculator tools offered by

various cloud providers. This study aims to assess

these tools' capabilities and limitations, shed light on

their functionalities, and offer insights into how they

contribute to sustainable cloud computing practices.

It also aims to help customers choose eco-friendly

cloud services that align with sustainability goals and

save money [7]. Furthermore, it improves the

understanding of the environmental impact of cloud

computing and encourages providers to reduce their

carbon footprint. This leads to more robust and

reliable carbon measurement tools.

2.1 Overview of the carbon calculator

tools

1. Customer Carbon Footprint Tool by

AWS- The AWS Customer Carbon Footprint

Tool allows users to examine the estimated carbon

footprint associated with using AWS services,

facilitating the accurate assessment of an

organization's overall carbon footprint and

monitoring emissions reductions over time. The

tool utilizes the Greenhouse Gas Protocol to

calculate estimates, presenting the information

through easily comprehensible data

visualizations. Access to the Customer Carbon

Footprint Tool is available through the billing

dashboard, requiring a new AWS identity and

access management permission.

2. Users are offered various options to

customize their analysis by setting preferred

periods. The estimates are delivered monthly,

allowing users to review data as far back as

January 2020 retrospectively. As users configure

their desired time frames, the dashboard

dynamically updates to display the estimated

carbon emissions generated during the selected

periods. Users will find five distinct sections

within the tool offering insights into their carbon

emissions from AWS services. The first section

Towards Sustainable Cloud Computing: A Comparative Evaluation of Carbon Footprint Calculator Tools

presents estimated AWS emissions, depicted in

green, representing the combined scope one and

scope two carbon footprint for the selected time,

measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide

equivalent.

3. To offer context, the tool utilizes data

sourced from 451 Research, an advisory

organization that is part of S&P Global Market

Intelligence, to calculate the carbon emissions

saved by operating workloads on AWS rather than

on premises. Users can gain visibility into the

geographic distribution of their emissions,

derived from the specific services used in each

AWS region and aggregated by geography.

4. Furthermore, the tool furnishes a

breakdown of emissions by broad AWS service

based on users' historical usage. Users have the

flexibility to review emission changes over time,

with data available monthly, quarterly, or yearly.

Additionally, the tool offers a forecast of future

carbon emissions based on current AWS usage

patterns and AWS' renewable energy project

roadmap. This projection illustrates how carbon

emissions will evolve over the coming years.

Users can observe changes in their forecast as

their usage patterns shift, and AWS introduces

new renewable projects globally. This dynamic

feature allows users to track and anticipate

alterations in their carbon footprint over time. Fig.

1(a) illustrates the dashboard of Customer Carbon

Footprint Tool By AWS.

IBM Cloud Carbon Calculator- The Cloud

Carbon Calculator Dashboard offers clients

access to emissions data for various IBM Cloud

workloads, including High 1 Performance

Computing (HPC) and financial services. This

tool presents a range of features for tracking

carbon emissions, allowing users to view total

emissions by service, resource group, and

location. Additionally, it facilitates data analysis

by enabling the filtering of emissions data based

on time period, service, or location and supports

data export in CSV format for further

examination. The calculator helps explicitly

estimate electricity consumption and associated

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for select IBM

Cloud services, thus providing insights on a per-

account, per1service, per-location, and resource

group basis. Fig. 2(b) shows the Carbon

Calculator dashboard offered by IBM cloud.

Carbon Footprint by Google Cloud- In the

Google Cloud environment, a dedicated carbon

footprint dashboard is accessible through the

console, providing visibility to individuals with

billing admin rights. This dashboard features

precise infographics, offering comprehensive

insights into total emissions categorized by

project, month, product, region, and more. The

same functionality extends to Workspace

customers, ensuring a consistent user experience.

Users also have the option to export the data to

BigQuery, facilitating custom analytics and

visualizations. This exported data can be utilized

to meet sustainability reporting requirements,

particularly in the auditing of scope three

greenhouse gases.

Carbon Footprint builds its calculations from

bottom to top, relying heavily on machine-level

power and activity monitoring inside Google data

centres.

Google has introduced a key metric, the Carbon-

Free Energy Percent (CFE), to empower users to

select regions with higher CFE percentages.

Regions with higher CFE percentages are

preferable as they contribute to fewer carbon

emissions. This information is integrated into

many of Google Cloud's products, and when users

choose a region, a user-friendly low CO2 icon is

displayed in the Cloud Console. Additionally, this

icon is annotated on the locations page of the

documentation for various products, enhancing

user awareness of the environmental impact

associated with their choices. Fig. 3(c)

pictorializes how Carbon Footprint by GCP

provides emissions summary.

Microsoft Sustainability Calculator by Azure-

The Emissions Impact Dashboard, powered by

Microsoft Power BI and Microsoft Azure Data

Explorer, allows employees to monitor the

environmental impact of their Azure virtual

machine usage. It encourages proactive measures,

such as optimizing design systems or downsizing

virtual machines based on real-time data. The

IC3Com 2024 - International Conference on Cognitive & Cloud Computing

dashboard integrates seamlessly with the

Sustainability Manager, offering a connector to

import data for tracking carbon emissions across

different scopes, including scope three emissions

from Azure services. Access to this dashboard

requires an Enterprise Agreement (EA)

enrollment number, billing account ID, and admin

access. It ensures transparency by utilizing billing

information to allocate carbon emissions,

respecting user privacy and permission settings.

Specifically designed for Microsoft 365, the

Power BI app provides a clear quantitative

overview of greenhouse gas emissions associated

with organizational use, including Teams calling,

file storage, and SharePoint. Verified by a third

party, the methodology covers all three scopes of

emissions. The Emission Savings tab estimates

the avoided greenhouse gas emissions achieved

by using the Cloud over on-premises alternatives,

emphasizing the up to 98 percent higher carbon

efficiency of the Microsoft cloud. Users can

customize estimates based on on-premises

efficiency and the volume of renewable energy

purchased by their organization. Fig. 4(d) depicts

the Emissions Insights as displayed on Microsoft

Sustainability Calculator.

2.2 Data Sources and Collection

The carbon footprint calculator tools and official

documentation provided by the respective cloud

providers are the main data sources for this research.

Our sources include press releases and

announcements from major providers like Google

Cloud Platform, AWS, Microsoft Azure, and IBM

Cloud. Collecting data involves obtaining and

analyzing information about the functions,

characteristics, and technical specifications of each

calculator tool [8][9][10][11]. Not only that; also,

apart from these we dig into any other probable

unveiled dimensions surrounding these calculators to

ensure a comprehensive review.

2.3 Comparison Framework

To facilitate a structured and meaningful comparison,

we have established a comprehensive framework that

considers a range of critical factors:

• Cost: Cost involved in using carbon calculator tools

for emissions measurement and management.

• Data Availability and Frequency: Indicates the

accessibility and update frequency of carbon

emissions data within the tools.

Fig. 1 (a) Customer Carbon Footprint Tool dashboard by AWS, (b) Carbon Calculator dashboard by IBM, (c) Overview

dashboard of Carbon Calculator by GCP, (d) Emissions Insights on Microsoft Sustainability Calculator by Azure.

Towards Sustainable Cloud Computing: A Comparative Evaluation of Carbon Footprint Calculator Tools

• Rounding of Emission Values: Sheds light on the

precision and accuracy of the emissions reporting.

• Presentation of Emissions and Savings

Summaries: Describes how the tools display

estimated carbon emissions and emissions savings,

often compared to on-premises workloads.

• Geographical Breakdown of Emissions: Shows

the carbon emissions data categorized by

geographical regions, like continents or countries.

• Breakdown by Specific Cloud Services: Displays

carbon emissions linked to specific cloud services.

For example, EC2 vs S3 emissions in AWS cloud.

• Emissions Trends Over Time: Illustrates how

historical carbon emissions data is presented over

time (e.g., monthly, or yearly).

• Path to Renewable Energy Adoption: Graphically

represents how carbon emissions decrease as the

cloud provider transitions to renewable energy

sources.

• Adherence to Recognized Standards: This ensures

if the tools follow established norms, like the

Greenhouse Gas Protocol and ISO standards, for

reliable measurements. This involves Scope 1

emissions indicating direct emissions from an

organization's activities, Scope 2 emissions cover

indirect emissions from purchased electricity while

Scope 3 emissions refer to indirect green-house gas

emissions that occur from activities outside an

organization's direct control.

• Consideration of Regional Variations: Considers

regional differences in emissions based on the energy

grid mix.

• Differentiation Between Estimates and Actual

Emissions: Distinction between estimated and actual

emissions for transparency.

• Integration with Provider’s Carbon Reporting

Framework: Refers to how well the carbon reporting

framework integrates with the organization’s

sustainability reporting, enabling organizations track,

evaluate, and report their carbon emissions and other

sustainability factors.

2.4 Calculation of carbon emission

Calculating the carbon footprint of cloud services

involves a step-by-step process [12]. First, the tools

and service providers collect information about the

services used along with their respective quantities.

Next, they determine the energy usage as a function

of cloud utilization and computation resource

requirements. The next step is to obtain the total

emissions by multiplying the electricity consumption

by the corresponding carbon emissions per unit of

electricity usage to calculate the total emissions.

Here, the carbon emissions per unit of electricity

usage vary with location and the carbon intensity of

the source used to power the respective data centres

[13].

These tools may normalize the result to ensure

fairness, measuring emissions per service unit. The

objective is to comprehend and compare the

environmental impact of diverse online activities.

Although all the primary carbon emissions tools

employ a similar methodology to estimate the carbon

footprint, slight variations exist. AWS's Customer

Carbon Footprint tool follows the Greenhouse Gas

Protocol (GHG) to calculate its carbon footprint. IBM

Cloud Carbon Calculator uses a non-automated,

report-based process. It allocates a portion of the

electricity consumption to each one of the services in

a location based on the physical hosts being used.

It is essential to note that the accuracy of these

calculations relies on the information provided by the

companies delivering these online services. There is

a lack of literature on the elaborate implementation of

these services in the public domain.

3 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Table 1 comprehensively compares the key features

of major cloud providers. AWS and GCP offer their

carbon calculators free of charge, providing a low

barrier to entry for users looking to assess their

environmental impact. On the other hand, Azure

requires a Power BI Pro license for installation and

use. IBM Cloud’s carbon calculator is complimentary

with the billing service, which also costs similar.

GCP excels in data update frequency by providing

daily updates, ensuring users can access the most

current information. At the same time, Azure and

IBM Cloud offer monthly updates. GCP also leads in

data availability, allowing users to access the

previous year’s data. At the same time, AWS and

IBM Cloud have data availability of 36 months, while

Azure keeps data for the last 2 years.

AWS, Azure, and GCP round their emissions

values, albeit to varying decimal places. In contrast,

IBM Cloud rounds emissions values to the nearest

whole number of metric tons of carbon equivalent

(MtCO2e), potentially sacrificing granularity for

simplicity.

AWS and Azure offer summaries of estimated

emissions and potential savings relative to on-

premises workloads. GCP excels in this area,

providing a comprehensive overview of gross carbon

emissions, carbon-free energy percentages, and

average emissions intensity of the electricity grid.

IC3Com 2024 - International Conference on Cognitive & Cloud Computing

IBM Cloud focuses on total emissions, resource

groups, and location summaries. However, it does not

offer information on potential savings, possibly

missing an opportunity to showcase the

environmental benefits of cloud migration.

Organizations with global operations need to factor in

the distribution of emissions around the globe. AWS,

Azure, and GCP provide insights into regional

emissions. However, AWS groups regions by North,

Central, and South America (AMER) and Europe, the

Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), whereas GCP

offers a more detailed breakdown. IBM Cloud offers

a geographical breakdown but does not elaborate on

the carbon emissions factor of each location.

AWS, Azure, and GCP offer emissions breakdowns

by specific services, empowering users to pinpoint

areas of concern. IBM Cloud follows suit but also

provides information on the electricity consumption

of each service, enhancing the tool’s utility.

AWS, Azure, and GCP offer visualizations

illustrating the path to renewable energy adoption,

aligning with their sustainability commitments.

Although committed to similar goals, IBM Cloud

does not provide forecasts related to renewable

energy adoption. This could be an area for

improvement to showcase IBM's commitment to

sustainability. All companies adhere to the

Greenhouse Gas Protocol and ISO requirements for

greenhouse fuel reporting while contrasting the

divide between estimates and actual emissions. Only

AWS lags in considering scope three emissions

among the four.

This comparison highlights limitations, emphasizing

the need for more precise calculators. It also guides

the strategy for developing a robust cloud carbon

footprint calculator and how companies can adapt by

integrating advantageous features from other

providers if they lack tools. Moreover, this

comparison proves invaluable for hybrid cloud usage,

helping users identify which service emits fewer

carbon emissions within each cloud provider,

ultimately aiding in selecting the most eco-friendly

and cost-effective cloud provider for specific

workloads. This supports a multi-cloud approach to

minimize carbon emissions.

Although these tools are primarily designed to

mitigate and manage environmental impacts,

particularly carbon emissions, they also

offer cost benefits. Optimizing resource allocation by

identifying inefficiencies can significantly cut

operational expenses. Monitoring energy

consumption enables businesses to adopt energy-

saving measures, reducing electricity bills and overall

costs. Additionally, prioritizing renewable energy

adoption supports sustainability goals, stabilizes

energy costs, and reduces expenses.

It's important to note that exact statistics regarding

carbon emissions, energy efficiency, and other

environmental impacts depend on various factors

such as usage patterns, services employed, cloud

provider, and usage intensity. These statistics are

typically accessible to users through their respective

cloud dashboards. While this paper provides thorough

insights and analysis, the actual numerical values may

vary based on specific usage scenarios and

configurations.

4 FUTURE DIRECTIONS

The comparative analysis of carbon emission

calculator tools has unearthed numerous crucial areas

for future exploration and enhancement. These

regions embody the following areas.

Real-time Carbon Emission Calculation: One

observation is the absence of tools providing real-

time carbon emission statistics. Such real-time

information holds enormous value for numerous

reasons: real-time emission monitoring and

assessment, resource optimization, real-time alerts,

and compliance.

Threshold Based Alerts: Currently, carbon emission

tools cannot set personalized thresholds, triggering

alerts if emissions cross the set limit. This feature, like

cost tracking from providers like AWS, empowers

customers to plan their usage and proactively be

mindful of their emissions.

Self-Emission of Tools: It is imperative to understand

that the tools' constant monitoring, calculations and

relaying of carbon emissions data can add to the

overall values, even in modest quantities. This

cumulative impact must be recounted and addressed

as a part of improvement and optimization.

Comprehensive Environmental Impact Reporting:

Future updates of the tools should encompass

dashboards and sections committed to displaying a

broader spectrum of environmental impacts due to

various cloud activities, like water utilization and

emissions, during the establishment of the cloud

infrastructure.

Carbon Offset Integration: Future advancements

should include features that guide users in reducing

their carbon footprint. This can be achieved by

connecting the tool to carbon offset registries,

Towards Sustainable Cloud Computing: A Comparative Evaluation of Carbon Footprint Calculator Tools

Table 1. Comparison of Carbon Calculator Tools by Various Cloud Providers.

allowing users to find and select projects that balance

out their carbon emissions. Moreover, there could be

a default choice suggesting tree planting, as a single

tree can offset about one metric ton of carbon dioxide

during its lifetime. Additionally, automated

reminders can be sent to users at regular intervals,

recommending carbon offsetting methods based on

their usage patterns. This encourages active steps to

reduce one's environmental impact.

Features

Customer Carbon

Footprint Tool by

AWS

Microsoft

Sustainability

Calculator b

Azure

Carbon Footprint

by Google Cloud

IBM Cloud Carbon

Calculator by IBM

Cost and Accessibility

Free

Power BI Pro

licence required to

install the tool

Free Free with billing service

Data Availability and

Frequency

Three-month

delayed update,

data availability

for past 36 months

Monthly updates,

data availability for

past 2 years

Daily updates,

data availability

for past 1 year

Monthly updates, data

availability for past 36

months

Rounding of Emission

Values

Rounded to the

nearest two

decimal places

Rounded to the

nearest whole

number

Rounded to the

nearest two

decimal places

Rounded to the nearest

whole number

Presentation of

Emissions and Savings

Summaries

Relative to on-

premises

workloads

Relative to on-

premises workloads

Overview of gross

carbon emissions,

carbon free energy

percentages, and

average emissions

intensity of the

electricity grid

Total emissions, resource

group, and location

summaries

Geographical

Breakdown of

Emissions

Yes, grouped by

AMER and

EMEA

Yes, detailed

breakdown by

source, scope, region

etc

Yes

Yes, but does not elaborate

on the carbon emissions

factor of each location

Breakdown by Specific

Cloud Services

Yes Yes Yes

Yes, also provides

information on the

electricity consumption of

each service

Emissions Trends Over

Time

Yes, monthly,

quarterly, or

annual views

Yes, monthly,

quarterly, or annual

views

Yes, monthly,

quarterly, or

annual views

Yes, monthly, quarterly, or

annual views

Path to Renewable

Energy Adoption

Yes Yes Yes No

Adherence to

Recognized Standards

Yes, Greenhouse

Gas Protocol and

ISO

requirements;

includes Scope 1

and 2 emissions

Yes, Greenhouse

Gas Protocol and

ISO requirements;

includes Scope 1, 2,

and 3 emissions

Yes, Greenhouse

Gas Protocol and

ISO

requirements;

includes Scope 1,

2 and 3 emissions

Yes, Greenhouse Gas

Protocol and ISO

requirements; includes

Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions

Consideration of

Regional Variations in

Emissions

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Differentiation Between

Estimates and Actual

Emissions

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Integration with

Provider’s Carbon

ortin

Framewor

Yes Yes Yes Yes

IC3Com 2024 - International Conference on Cognitive & Cloud Computing

Machine Learning for Real-time Calculation: More

accurate machine learning models can be

incorporated to bridge the gap between the estimates

and actual emissions by leveraging cloud usage

patterns and emissions data. Also, Machine learning

offers carbon footprint reduction advice by

suggesting practices like data deduplication, thin

provisioning, tiered storage, energy-efficient

hardware selection, optimal data centre locations, and

efficient cooling systems [14]. The lack of available

literature and implementation indicates this is

relatively unexplored territory. We see significant

potential in properly leveraging ML for enhanced

accuracy and facilitating the implementation of

offsetting measures [15]. For instance, understanding

how much carbon can be generated based on usage

and proposing corresponding measures represents an

area where ML could make a valuable impact. Our

proposal recognizes the necessity for exploration and

advancement in this domain.

In essence the development of carbon emission

calculation tools should prioritize measurements.

Offer services that deliver actionable insights to

support sustainability initiatives. Features like real

time monitoring, threshold alerts, comprehensive

environmental reporting and integration with carbon

offsetting mechanisms can transform these tools into

resources for organizations committed to reducing

their carbon footprint while promoting sustainability.

5 CONCLUSION

The technological marvels of the today's era are built

on reliant cloud services. Hence, it is important not to

undermine the environmental impacts caused by the

rapid expansion of cloud services. Few major players

power most of the cloud services available today, and

often in the pursuit of profits and expansion, the

impact of this growth is neglected.

This paper delves into the carbon footprint

calculator tools by these major players. The study

examines the carbon monitoring tools by cloud

service providers like Google Cloud, Amazon Web

Services, Google Cloud Platform, and IBM Cloud

and sets them apart by pointing out their subtleties

and nuances. Though these tools offer insights into

carbon emissions, they lack in real time tracking and

the facility to enable personalized threshold alerts.

This study is a call for action to all the cloud service

providers. Our study advocated for accountability by

spreading user awareness regarding their usage and

emissions while allowing for options to offset the

carbon footprints. By ecological practices in cloud

computing, we can strive towards a coexistence of

technology and sustainability.

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