Choose Region based on both business requirements and sustainability goals

Selecting the right AWS Region for your workloads is crucial as it impacts performance, cost, and carbon footprint. By aligning your choice with both business requirements and sustainability goals, you can enhance your key performance indicators (KPIs) and reduce environmental impact.

Best Practices

Evaluate Regional Carbon Footprint

• Assess the carbon intensity of power sources in various AWS Regions. Choosing Regions with a higher proportion of renewable energy can significantly lower your application’s carbon footprint.
• Utilize AWS’s Sustainability Reports to gain insights into the environmental impact of each Region.
• Regularly review and adjust your Region selection as new data becomes available on regional sustainability initiatives.

Align Region Selection with Business Requirements

• Identify your workload’s performance, latency, and availability requirements to determine the most suitable Regions.
• Consider regulatory requirements that may dictate certain data residency or processing locations.
• Engage stakeholders in business and sustainability discussions to ensure all goals are aligned.

Optimize Cost by Leveraging Region Benefits

• Analyze pricing differences among Regions while factoring in performance and sustainability goals to avoid unexpected costs.
• Explore potential savings through Reserved Instances in selected Regions that meet both performance and sustainability criteria.
• Utilize cost calculators provided by AWS to forecast expenses based on your workload type and scale in various Regions.

Implement Monitoring and Reporting

• Set up monitoring tools to continuously assess the performance and energy usage of workloads in chosen Regions.
• Report on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to carbon footprint and costs regularly to ensure that sustainability goals are being met.
• Use AWS CloudWatch and AWS Budgets to track performance and cost metrics effectively.

Foster a Culture of Sustainability

• Educate your team about the importance of sustainability in cloud architecture and how Region selection plays a role.
• Encourage initiatives that prioritize projects in more sustainable Regions whenever feasible.
• Make sustainability part of project assessments and reviews to promote long-term commitment to green cloud practices.

Questions to ask your team

• Have you evaluated the carbon footprint of different AWS Regions in relation to your workload?
• Do you have defined sustainability goals that inform your choice of AWS Region?
• How do you assess the performance and cost implications of selecting a specific Region for your workload?
• Have you considered the data residency and regulatory requirements for your workload when choosing a Region?
• Are you aware of the energy sources used to power the AWS Regions you are considering?

Who should be doing this?

Cloud Architect

• Analyze business requirements to determine the most suitable AWS Region for workloads.
• Evaluate sustainability goals and their impact on Region selection.
• Assess trade-offs in performance, cost, and carbon footprint for different Regions.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to align Region selection with sustainability initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with regional regulations and sustainability standards.

Business Analyst

• Gather and document business requirements related to workload deployment.
• Identify KPIs relevant to performance, cost, and environmental impact.
• Perform market analysis to understand potential Regions’ sustainability practices.
• Provide insights on how Region selection affects business operations and compliance.

DevOps Engineer

• Implement solutions that allow for the efficient deployment of workloads in selected Regions.
• Monitor performance metrics related to the chosen Region.
• Advocate for sustainable practices in infrastructure provisioning and management.
• Optimize workloads to minimize carbon footprint in the deployed Region.

Sustainability Officer

• Define and communicate the organization’s sustainability goals.
• Evaluate and recommend Regions based on their renewable energy sources.
• Engage with AWS sustainability teams to stay updated on best practices.
• Report on the carbon impact of deployed workloads and suggest improvements.

What evidence shows this is happening in your organization?

• Sustainability Region Evaluation Checklist: A structured checklist to evaluate and compare AWS Regions considering performance, cost, and environmental impact. Provides standardized criteria for assessing alignment with both business needs and sustainability goals.
• Region Selection Strategy Document: A formal strategy outlining how to select AWS Regions based on sustainability objectives and operational requirements. Includes guidance on energy mix, carbon reduction targets, data residency, and compliance requirements.
• Carbon Footprint Dashboard: A real-time dashboard to monitor energy consumption and carbon outputs across different AWS Regions. Helps visualize sustainability metrics alongside performance and cost information for informed decision-making.
• Regional Runbook for Sustainable Deployment: Detailed procedures and best practices for deploying workloads sustainably in specific Regions. Covers automation scripts, resource tagging conventions, and key configurations to optimize energy efficiency.

Cloud Services

AWS

• AWS Cost Explorer: Enable detailed analysis of costs associated with workloads in different Regions, helping to align spending with sustainability goals.
• AWS Trusted Advisor: Provides insights on your AWS infrastructure performance and cost optimization, including recommendations based on sustainability practices.
• AWS Compute Optimizer: Helps you select the optimal Region and instance types that can reduce cost and environmental impact while meeting performance requirements.
• AWS Sustainability Dashboard: Provides a view into the carbon footprint of your workloads, enabling informed decisions about regional deployment.

Azure

• Azure Cost Management + Billing: Helps monitor and manage cloud spending across different Regions, facilitating data-driven decisions that align with sustainability goals.
• Azure Advisor: Offers recommendations to optimize your Azure resources, including sustainability-focused suggestions based on best practices.
• Azure Monitor: Provides comprehensive monitoring of resources, helping assess performance and environmental impact across different Regions.

Google Cloud Platform

• Google Cloud Pricing Calculator: Allows estimation of costs associated with services across Regions, aiding in the selection of cost-effective and sustainable options.
• Google Cloud Operations Suite: Provides performance metrics and logging to monitor the environmental impact and resource utilization of workloads across selected Regions.
• Google Cloud Sustainability Reports: Offers insights on the sustainability metrics of Google Cloud services, guiding decisions based on carbon emissions and energy usage.