The Carbon Cost of a Single Cloud Migration

When a mid-sized company moves its data to the cloud, the carbon footprint can rival a transatlantic flight. This episode examines a real migration by a European retailer that shifted 200 servers to AWS in 2025. We track the embedded carbon of new hardware, the energy mix of the data center region, and the often-ignored 'rebound effect' where cloud efficiency leads to more data storage, not less. Lucas and Luna discuss whether cloud providers' renewable energy credits actually reduce emissions or just shift the accounting. Specific numbers: the retailer's migration emitted 340 metric tons of CO2 upfront, and their monthly cloud usage now consumes 12 MWh, with a carbon intensity that varies by hour. We also explore the growing trend of 'carbon-aware' cloud scheduling and what it means for corporate net-zero plans. #CloudComputing #CarbonFootprint #AWS #DataCenters #RenewableEnergy #NetZero #Sustainability #GreenIT #CarbonAccounting #ClimateEconomics #EnergyEfficiency #CorporateClimateAction #Economics #BusinessPodcast #FexingoBusiness #Podcast #ClimatePolicy #CarbonEmissions Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo