This document is currently in DRAFT, and is open to public feedback.
The blog post Request for comment: Updates to our verification criteria for data centers and hosting providers summarises the key changes we have planned, and how you can give us feedback on them before February 28, 2026.
This page is for data center operators and web hosting providers, who want to get verified as a verified green hosting provider. On this page you will find information about the kind of disclosures required in order to get verified, as well as additional information about the context of those disclosures and examples to use as a guide.
The founding mission of the Green Web Foundation is for a fossil-free internet by 2030. To track progress towards this we ask hosting companies and data center operators to complete a voluntary verification process where we ask for disclosures showing their organisation’s commitment and progress towards phasing out fossil fuels from their hosting infrastructure.
Quicklinks
Use these links to quickly navigate this document based on your organisation’s circumstances.
- We are a user/reseller of a provider that is already verified by the Green Web Foundation.
- We are a user/reseller of a provider that IS NOT verified by the Green Web Foundation.
- We manage our own data center and/or infrastructure.
The disclosure requirements for our verification have been chosen to align with existing standards such as the RE100 Technical Criteria and the 24-7 Carbon-Free Coalition (24-7 CFC) Technical Standard. Both are well established, agreed up standards to which many organisations (including data center operators and hosting companies) are parties to. Both require member organisations to report annually based on these criteria, and we hope this can provide a clear, repeatable disclosure pathway for providers going forwards.
Definition: Fossil-free energy
For the purposes of verification, we consider the following forms of energy to be fossil-free energy sources: Solar power (photovoltaic and solar thermal, wind power (onshore and offshore), geothermal energy, ocean energy (tidal, wave, and ocean thermal energy conversion), hydropower, and nuclear energy.
We have arrived at this list of energy sources after reviewing existing accepted clean energy standards in particular the 24-7 Carbon-Free Coalition (24-7 CFC) Technical Standard.
What disclosures are required for verification?
For the purposes of verification, we require that hosting providers and data center operators share each year:
- A public statement from your organisation stating your commitment to achieving 100% hourly fossil-free energy use by 2030, for every region in which you operate. This statement should also include information about the hosting infrastructure you currently use. We have prepared this template to help you get started.
- Disclosures from one or more of the basis for verification criteria below:
- Self generation – you generate your own fossil-free energy.
- Direct procurement – you buy directly from a fossil-free energy project via a dedicated power purchase agreement.
- Green tariffs – you actively procure a fossil-free energy tariff via electricity suppliers
- Unbundled certificates – you buy certificates of fossil-free generation separate from the power you buy, when you or your supplier can’t use one of the 3 ways above.
- Passive procurement – you operate in a place where certificates for fossil-free generation are by default bundled with the power you buy, and not sold on.
We also accept third-party limited assurance report covering Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions for that organisation. This means that an independent auditor has obtained sufficient and appropriate disclosures that the organisation has used one/more of the mechanisms listed above to support claims of using 100% fossil-free energy from their hosting infrastructure.
Important note regarding carbon offsets
Carbon offsets cannot be used as a valid basis for verification. Our focus is on phasing out fossil fuels being used by hosting infrastructure, and carbon offsets do not achieve this.
For providers currently using offsets for verification, we provide guidance on alternatives in this FAQ: Are carbon offsets accepted as a form of disclosures for verification?
Granularity of disclosures
Disclosures should be supplied for each region where you are operating a data center or utilising hosting infrastructure.
All disclosures provided can be either:
- Annually matched: disclosures shown on a yearly timescale showing that a location is already using 100% fossil-free energy based on one of the basis for verification above.
- Hourly matched: disclosures shown on a per-hour timescale showing progress towards your 2030 commitments based on the basis for verification above.
We ask for disclosures to be shared for either the current calendar year to date, or the last full calendar year.
Important note
Please note that while we continue to accept annually matched disclosures at this time, we expect this to be phased out by the end of 2028 with a view to only accepting hourly matched disclosures. Should this occur, we will notify all impacted providers in our dataset well in advance of the changes taking place.
Transparency of disclosures
We require all providers seeking verification to share a public statement regarding their commitment to achieving 100% hourly fossil-free energy use by 2030, for every region in which they operate.
All other disclosures that are shared for the purposes of verification in the Green Web Dataset can be shared as either public or private items of disclosures.
- Public disclosures – These disclosures are made available whenever a provider’s listing is queried through our Green Web Check, Hosting Directory and provider pages, or via our API.
- Private disclosures – These disclosures are securely stored on our servers, and are not made available for public access. These items of disclosures can only be accessed from within Provider Portal by users with access to the specific provider for which the disclosures has been uploaded to, and by Green Web Foundation staff for the purposes of verification checks.
Our Privacy Policy contains details about how our data is stored and processed.
What bases of verification are accepted for listing in the Green Web Dataset?
Below are brief descriptions of each basis for verification. These are based on the definitions outlined in the Climate Groups’ RE100 Technical Criteria and the 24-7 Carbon-Free Coalition (24-7 CFC) Technical Standard. For detailed breakdowns, please refer to those documents.
All disclosures shared should show that claims are exclusive to the organisation making them, are timely, and are deliverable. For more details, read the FAQ What is a credible claim for the purposes of verification?
Self generation of fossil-free energy
Your organisation directly owns fossil-free energy projects (on-site or off-site) from which they directly consume energy.
What disclosures are required for verification?
To make a verification claim based on self generation, providers must share:
- Information specific to the energy generation (technology type, capacity, location, operational date) and other details outlined in the 24-7 CFE technical criteria.
- Data showing the time, date, and quantity of energy generation.
If available, providers can also share any relevant information about CO2e emissions associated with the generation.
Direct procurement of fossil-free energy
Procurement from, and contracting with third-party fossil-free energy sources themselves. This includes physical and financial/virtual power purchase agreements (PPAs).
What disclosures are required for verification?
To make a verification claim based on direct procurement, providers must share:
- A PPA contract showing exclusive ownership of the energy generated under the agreement. Refer to 24-7 Carbon-Free Coalition (24-7 CFC) Technical Standard Appendix A – Section 3 for more details.
Green tariffs
A conventional energy supply agreement between an organisation and an energy supplier. These can be either project specific (i.e. the energy supplier delivers energy from one/more specific projects they operate), or retail.
What disclosures are required for verification?
To make a verification claim based on green tariffs, a provider must share one or more of the following:
- Disclosures of the green tariff, including:
- The timeframe for energy supply
- The type of energy being supplied
- The quantity of energy being supplied
- Disclosures from the energy supplier showing the fuel-mix of the energy delivered.
Unbundled certificates
Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) or Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) which are purchased by an organisation separate to the energy that organisation purchases.
What disclosures are required for verification?
To make a verification claim based on unbundled certificates, a provider must share:
- A copy of the EACs issued in the same region as they are making the claim for.
See Appendix D in the 24-7 Carbon-Free Coalition (24-7 CFC) Technical Standard for accepted EACs by country.
Passive Procurement of fossil-free energy
The fossil-free energy that is supplied to an organisation via an energy supplier that by default bundles EACs in with their power. This means the supply has no special ‘green tariff’ – all the power they sell has the same treatment, where the energy supplier retires an equivalent amount of EACs for the energy that they have delivered to the organisation, instead of selling them on as ‘unbundled certificates’ to be used as the basis for other fossil-free claims.
What disclosures are required for verification?
To make a verification claim based on passive procurement, a provider must share:
- Documented disclosures from their energy supplier showing their organisation’s energy consumption and the retirement of EACs equivalent to that amount.
Third-party limited assurance
Providers who are not able to share disclosures in the forms listed above may instead share a third-party limited assurance report covering Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions for that organisation.
What disclosures are required for verification?
To make a verification claim based on limited assurance, the limited assurance must specify:
- The region/s it is applicable to
- The GHG Scope/s (Scope 1 or 2) which is being assessed
- The basis under which the limited assurance has been reached. Namely, use of:
- Self generation
- Direct procurement
- Green tariffs
- Unbundled certificates
- Passive procurement
Providers must also share the related sustainability report and/or other documents for which that limited assurance has been provided.
We use/resell a provider that is already verified by the Green Web Foundation. Can my organisation get verified as well?
Yes! To do so, you must:
- Use the services of, or be a reseller of, a provider that is listed in our Green Web Directory.
- Disclosures that you have an active commercial relationship with them – Share a recent invoice, contract, or similar documents. This can be uploaded as a private item of disclosures. Sensitive information in these documents can be blacked out.
Public disclosure of provider relationships
Hosting providers who want to be verified based on their use of another verified provider (for example resellers, or providers who use colocation) will need to agree to the public disclosure of their relationship with other verified providers both in our Dataset and associated tools.
The provider I use is not verified by the Green Web Foundation, but they use fossil-free energy. How can my organisation get verified?
The best thing to do in this situation is to encourage the provider you use/resell to get verified with us first. In this way, the onus is on them to share with us the relevant information for verification. After they are verified, you can then be verified as a user/reseller of their services (see We use/resell a provider that is already verified by the Green Web Foundation. Can my organisation get verified as well?)
If the provider you use/resell does not want to get verified by us, then in order for your organisation to be verified you will need to:
- Share a public statement from your organisation committing to achieving 100% hourly fossil-free energy use by 2030, for every region in which you operate.
- Demonstrate that the power used is matched with fossil-free energy generation by one of the mechanisms below:
Providers wanting to be verified in this manner will be required to share disclosures on behalf of the provider they use/resell.
In the event they cannot obtain these disclosures from the provider they use/resell then they will need to share information about their energy usage, and evidence that they have purchased an equivalent amount of unbundled certificates for the time and region for which they are making the claim.
FAQs
What is a credible claim for the purposes of verification?
Any claims made must be credible, in that they are unique and exclusive to the organisation making those claims. They must also be timely and deliverable – (e.g. a renewable energy certificate from 2016 cannot be used to make claims for the 2025 calendar year; nor can a renewable energy certificate from Norway be used to make a claim for operations in the region of Singapore).
For a detailed explanation of what constitutes a Credible Claim, please refer to the Climate Group’s 24-7 CFC Technical Criteria Appendix A.
Are carbon offsets accepted as a form of disclosures for verification?
No, our focus is on phasing out fossil fuels being used by hosting infrastructure.
Instead of offsets, providers can purchase unbundled Energy Attribution Certificates (EACs) or Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) that match the time and region for which they are making their claim.
For example, a provider making a claim for the 2025 calendar year should use a REC with a vintage from that year. Likewise, a provider making a claim for the region of Singapore can use an EAC that is issued from a recognised provider in that region.
See Appendix D in the 24-7 Carbon-Free Coalition (24-7 CFC) Technical Standard for accepted EACs by country.
Can my organisation be verified even if we currently do not have any regions that are fossil free?
Yes, we allow providers to be verified if they have no regions which are fossil free. These providers will still be required to share a 2030 fossil free statement as part of their verification request.
When a provider with no fossil free regions is reverified (after one year), we may ask them to share detailed evidence which shows that they are making progress towards reaching fossil free status in at least one of their regions.
Can ISO 14001 certification be used as disclosures for verification?
No, our focus is on phasing out fossil fuels being used by hosting infrastructure.
An ISO 14001 certification alone is not sufficient disclosures for verification. We require providers to share disclosures aligned with the forms listed in this document.
My organisation is a member of the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact (CNDCP). Can this be used as disclosures for verification?
No, our focus is on phasing out fossil fuels being used by hosting infrastructure.
Membership of the CNDCP alone is not sufficient disclosures for verification. We require providers to share disclosures aligned with the forms listed in this document.
What do we consider fossil free energy sources?
For the purposes of verification, we consider the following forms of energy to be fossil-free energy sources:
- Solar power (photovoltaic and solar thermal)
- Wind power (onshore and offshore)
- Geothermal energy
- Ocean energy (tidal, wave, and ocean thermal energy conversion)
- Hydropower
- Nuclear energy
We have arrived at this list of energy sources after reviewing existing accepted clean energy standards in particular the 24-7 Carbon-Free Coalition (24-7 CFC) Technical Standard.
Why call it fossil free?
We refer to it as fossil free, because for us, it names the problem to solve – to divest from fossil fuels, and phasing out fossil fuels from hosting infrastructure.
This is broadly in-line with our recent post, No Fossil Fuels in Our Tech Stacks, and previously, we’ve had a definition of green energy that was to some extent determined by a) what you could reasonably expect hosting providers to be able to meet and b) what various conflicting national standards could agree on.