Moving HR applications to the cloud can reduce carbon footprint by 30,000 metric tons

Just came across a really interesting read on how moving HR applications can reduce the carbon footprint in a meaningful way.

"The Carbon Disclosure Project study found that when that food and beverage firm transitions its human resources application from dedicated IT to the public cloud, it can reduce carbon emissions by 30,000 metric tons over five years, which is the equivalent to the annual emissions from 5,900 passenger vehicles. The lifetime cost of implementing and operating the public cloud solution for five years is $12.3 million, compared to the $24.6 million to upgrade and operate a dedicated IT solution over the same time frame. The study found that if the food and beverage firm moves its HR application from dedicated IT to the public cloud, it can achieve a net present value of $10.1 million over five years with an ROI of under a year.

If that same firm moves its HR application from on-premise to a private cloud, it chops carbon emissions by 25,000 metric tons over five years, or the equivalent of the annual emissions from 4,900 passenger cars. In that private cloud scenario, the net present value is $4.4 million over five years with payback coming in year two, the study found."

(Source: Cloud Computing Chops Energy Costs, Carbon Emissions: Study)