Open Data Center Alliance (ODCA) has released a new PoC (proof of concept) paper designed to test and validate the concepts outlined in the ODCA Carbon Footprint and Energy Efficiency Usage Model. The PoC is based on a study conducted with ODCA members from BMW, Datapipe and Verne Global to demonstrate how organizations from across the cloud ecosystem can use ODCA's Carbon Footprint and Energy Usage Model today to compare, measure and ultimately optimize enterprise cloud CO₂ emissions. ODCA will hold a public flash webinar at 10:00am US PT on Tuesday, December 17 to review findings outlined in the PoC. Anyone interested in attending the webinar may register on the ODCA BrightTALK Channel page.

The PoC details testing scenarios, results, and benefits achieved by measuring the carbon footprint of cloud IT operations from the perspective of a data center operator (Verne Global), a cloud service provider (Datapipe), and a consumer of cloud services (BMW). In conjunction with the ODCA Carbon Footprint and Energy Efficiency Usage Model, the PoC provides companies with a comprehensive framework for comparing the CO₂ emissions of products from cloud IT vendors and cloud solution providers in a consistent, equitable, and transparent manner. This makes it easier for any organization to specify and manage cloud services that are green and energy efficient.

"The ODCA Carbon and Energy Efficiency PoC released today is a valuable resource for any organization looking to measure and reduce CO₂ emissions across the entire cloud ecosystem and an important document for helping enterprises meet government energy efficiency mandates and corporate sustainability goals," said Marvin Wheeler, executive director, Open Data Center Alliance. "We congratulate BMW, Datapipe and Verne Global for taking a leadership role in the development of the Carbon and Energy Efficiency PoC and for demonstrating how enterprises worldwide can leverage ODCA usage models and requirements to deploy greener and more energy efficient cloud services."

The Carbon Footprint and Energy Efficiency PoC has been developed within ODCA's Regulatory and Ecosystem workgroup, which is chaired by Pankaj Fichadia, Management Assurance (Enterprise Transformation), National Australia Bank. In addition to BMW, Datapipe and Verne Global, ODCA members participating in the development of the PoC include representatives from Atos, Intel, National Australia Bank and T-Systems. The paper references the Digital Service Efficiency (DSE) methodology developed by eBay, an ODCA adopter member, and references concepts and metrics developed by The Green Grid Association. The paper is available for free download on the ODCA website.