Cloud storage provider Salesforce has begun to tout the cloud as an energy efficient place to store a company’s data. The firm’s energy efficiency flaunting proves that going green has quickly become good PR for businesses.

In its recent sustainability report, the Marc Benioff led company heralds the cloud as producing 95 percent less carbon emissions than on-premise servers. Even more surprising, Salesforce says its cloud is 64 percent more energy efficient than the average company’s private cloud.

Following the release of the sustainability report, the environmental advocacy group Greenpeace came out and said, “Good going Salesforce”. The news shows that not only are cloud solutions proving to be an eco-friendly storage option; they are also showing the publicity boon one gains by going green.

As the debate over climate change quickly moves from discussion to fact, the world is becoming evermore aware of things like a carbon footprint. World governments are starting to focus on ways to push out excessive energy expenditures and consumers are starting to make purchase decisions with emissions in mind.

Last year, Apple gushed about its solar powered datacentre. Even the EU reported they cut £1.3m in expenditures by going green last July.

The other side of the “green advantage” comes when companies like Microsoft don’t push to go green. If you’re a firm that refuses to develop its green options you should expect a ton of criticism from the likes of the aforementioned Greenpeace.

So by going green not only have firm’s like Salesforce helped the environment, they’ve also helped themselves.

By way of free advertising from Greenpeace Salesforce just pointed out its better for the environment than Skydrive and Google Drive without ever making the comparison. That type of endorsement is a big deal in the mind of the consumer. In this ever increasing world of technological parity getting a leg up through good deeds is no small feat.

Consumers want to know they are doing their part for the environment. By investing in a pro-green firm like Salesforce they are saying, “Hey, we are doing our part”. So as the world becomes more green focused so should technology companies. If not for the environment, than at least do it for the publicity.

05 Mar 2013