Our Corporate Responsibility

Since 1996, our essential corporate values have included taking the long-range view and planning intensely for the future. As a consequence many of our choices have been influenced by the current climate change crisis.

Energy awareness is not new at our Network Operations Centers. We believe in conservation not just because we've always been a considerate corporate citizen, but because efficient energy management allows us to pass cost savings on to our customers.

What is the cleanest unit of energy of all? The unit you never use. Instead of retrofitting solutions to make up for wasted energy, we believe that ultimately the most effective way to manage the energy crisis is to limit our consumption of fossil fuels altogether, using the best energy-saving designs for our hardware. We pay more for quality up-front, certainly, but the energy savings are worth it.

Taking Extra Steps for Conservation

Along with most environmentally responsible offices, we take basic measures such as purchasing recycled products where possible, cutting back on print-outs, using office plants to filter the air and absorb pollutants, and donating out-of-date equipment to charities instead of overloading landfills. Staff are encouraged to commute to work via bus, bicycle, and "foot power" through the use of pre-tax commute benefits. Where possible individuals telecommute, and we regularly teleconference among our multiple locations.

Even simple steps like using Adobe .pdf files and specially designed software solutions to limit reliance on traditional paper-based channels can help.

We encourage staff to limit throw-away cups by re-using insulated coffee mugs for that essential pick-me-up. The astonishing truth: if every Starbucks customer carried a re-usable coffee thermos instead of pressed paper or styrofoam, we could prevent the release of 2,040,061,237 pounds (that's two billion, yes) of carbon dioxide every year, according to Stanford University.

Promoting Energy Efficiency at our Data Centers

As a matter of course, servers and equipment at all our data centers are kept turned off unless/until they are needed. Potential air escape routes and leaks are completely sealed off, so the carefully chilled internal air consumes less air-conditioning run-time and electricity.

Our technicians actually go as far as equalizing the data center temperature around the servers and then raising it slightly around the AC units, which results in greater cooling efficiency (and reduced energy consumption). Plus, our AC units are the latest innovative technology, only recently available in the U.S. They exceed even the stringent efficiency requirements of Seattle, "The Emerald City," definitely a leading "green" city!

Innovative Technology Revolution in Data Center Design

The new CyberAiR® floor-mounted precision air conditioners containing Electronically Commutated - EC - plug fans are a generational leap ahead of traditional centrifugal blowers. We've contracted with Stulz-ATS, the first CRAC/CRAH (Computer Room Air Conditioner/Computer Room Air Handler) manufacturer in the United States to bring EC Fan technology to the data center, to obtain precision temperature and humidity control for our mission-critical centers.

Starting with the EC plug fan, we get low-noise, low-vibration, dust- and maintenance-free operation, for an immediate 30% energy savings. The fail-safe feature detects a single fan failure, automatically increasing the rotational speed of all the rest of the fans to make up for lost airflow. Two separate advanced controls adjust the proportional chilled water control valve, as well as the tunable control algorithms for the fans.

And since redundancy is so essential, many data centers include "stand-by" units in case of emergency. Because our CRAHs employ the efficient EC fans - and operate with a new, unique V-frame coil designed to optimize air flow, minimize pressure drop, and improve total efficiency by eliminating water carry-over into the air stream - we can actually run our stand-by units, reduce fan speed on all units, achieve the desired cooling capacity, and use less energy. We achieve the highest cooling capacity available, while at the same time using the smallest footprint!

Superb Bird of Paradise at the Honolulu Zoo

In addition to conserving the natural resources we use every day, we are committed to protecting members of the wonderfully diverse animal kingdom and helping to educate the public about the Earth's wildlife. We felt there was no more fitting way to do so than to adopt the Superb Bird of Paradise at the Honolulu Zoo, near our company headquarters.

In adopting the aptly-named bird, we support the Zoo's efforts to propagate the unique species and give visitors a first-hand learning experience about these exotic animals.

Efficient energy management

We believe in conservation not just because we've always been a considerate corporate citizen, but because efficient energy management allows us to pass cost savings on to our customers.

Environmentally responsible offices

We take basic measures such as purchasing recycled products, cutting back on print-outs, using office plants to filter the air and absorb pollutants, and donating out-of-date equipment to charities.

Innovative Technology Revolution

Servers and equipment at all our data centers are kept turned off unless/until they are needed. Potential air escape routes and leaks are completely sealed off. Our AC units are the latest innovative technology.

Superb Bird of Paradise

We are fully committed to being involved in protecting the environment at the local level. We believe there is no more fitting opportunity to do this than to adopt a Superb Bird of Paradise at the Honolulu Zoo, where we are headquartered.

The vibrantly-plumed Superb Bird of Paradise was one of the featured species in the Discovery Channel's ground-breaking Planet Earth series, displaying his elaborate and inimitable mating dance. The Honolulu Zoo is one of only five American sites where the magnificent Birds of Paradise are exhibited.

By supporting the Zoo and specifically through our sponsorship of the Superb Bird of Paradise, we hope to truly live the principles of environmental stewardship, education, and advocacy we have instituted since we were founded in 1996.