Verification basis: We use a provider that is not verified by the Green Web Foundation
This disclosure type refers to organisations who rely on another hosting provider or data center operator that has not been verified by the Green Web Foundation, either through a reseller, colocation, or other agreement.
What disclosures are required for verification?
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.
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.
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 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.
Faq
We rely on an upstream provider who is not verified, but who themselves use a verified provider to deliver their services. How can we get verified?
To illustrate this situation, let us look at three organisations:
- Provider A – your organisation (you want to get verified)
- Provider B – the organisation you purchase hosting services from (they are not verified)
- Provider C- an organisation which Provider B leases data center space from (they are verified)
In this scenario, we would need to see:
- Disclosures that allows us to verify your use of Provider B. This can be in the form of a recent invoice, contract, or similar documents. Sensitive information in these documents can be blacked out.
- Formal disclosures showing a Provider B’s use of Provider C’s facilities. This can be in the form of a company statement, press release, or other type of formal evidence linking the companies. This disclosure should clearly list the facilities and/or regions that are being used.