As of 2013, Infomaniak is entrusting the company’s energy management to a specialist firm, whose aim will be to continually improve the company’s energy efficiency and drive our ecological vision.

All of our offices and IT rooms are equipped with low-energy lamps. Office lighting is switched off during the night and at weekends, as well as during work hours when rooms are not in use.

Office computers are put into hibernation mode at the end of the day and monitors are switched off every evening.

Data centres are subject to strict energy monitoring (see § Datacenters).

The electrical power used by the company to power its offices and data processing centres comprises:

-    60% from hydroelectric sources ("TÜV SÜD EE01" certified)
-    40% from renewable sources ("Naturemade Star" certified) 

Infomaniak fully offsets all CO2 emissions generated by the company (travel to the workplace, manufacture and removal of servers, electricity, air conditioning, operations). Flights are also offset (see §8 below).

In 2014, the company discharged the equivalent of 144.6 tonnes of CO2. This figure is low for the sector and is achieved through the use of electricity supplies from renewable sources and continued efforts to use only environment-friendly consumables.
?
Infomaniak is Myclimate certified. Myclimate is a Swiss not-for-profit foundation set up in 2002 at Swiss engineering school EPFZ, and among the world leaders in voluntary carbon offset schemes. The foundation offers a full range of climate conservation services. www.myclimate.org

Infomaniak only purchases servers with “low voltage” technologies, which are less power-hungry (in terms of electricity consumption and heat dissipation).

Since the processor is the server component that consumes the most energy, the company works exclusively with the Xeon “L” (low power) Series, which at full power uses 40% less energy than previous generations of processors. This choice has allowed us to increase the number of machines by 20% while reducing total electricity consumption by 5%.

To ensure the stability of our electricity supply, Infomaniak uses an inverter with 99% efficiency. This is an outstanding level of efficiency for a data processing centre, given that the usual figure is 92%. Hence, out of every 100W of electricity consumed by a server, just 1W is used by the inverter. By taking advantage of “eBoost” technology, this inverter only kicks in when necessary, unlike conventional devices which run continuously.

The new Satigny data processing centre, operational from 1 December 2013, has a Power Use Effectiveness (PUE) of less than 1.1, making it, to the best of our knowledge, the most environmentally friendly in Switzerland!

The centre is cooled using only filtered outdoor air. It employs “Fresh Air” technology, enabling a reduction in temperature without the use of outside air. Servers operate continuously at a temperature of 35°C and can even go as high as 45°C for 20% of their uptime. In winter, the heat given off by the machines is recycled to heat the premises.

The air conditioning systems of both data processing centres is set to a relatively high constant temperature of 29°C, further minimising energy consumption.

The Vernier data processing centre is partially cooled using fresh outdoor air, which is not chilled. This is a natural air conditioning process based on moisture evaporation (adiabatic cooling) which is automatically engaged when the temperature rises above 18°C.
 
As of 2007, the Carouge and Vernier centres are already cooled via an outdoor air injection system. The air conditioning systems only kick in when the outside temperature exceeds 25°C.

Infomaniak replaces its servers after 4 years of use, without them reaching the end of their life, and recycles them in their entirety. This enables the most powerful servers to be acquired on a continual basis, which are less energy-consuming and take up less space, thus making data processing centres in turn more efficient, less resource-hungry and more fully harnessed. 

Infomaniak has a sustainable transport programme in place for personnel in order to promote eco-friendly transport and physical exercise.

Hence, personnel receive an allowance depending on their mode of transport and distance travelled to get to work.

The maximum bonus (CHF 1,500 per annum) is awarded if the employee commits to walking to work. A sliding scale is then applied depending on the mode of transport used. In decreasing order, these are: cycling all year round; cycling in summer and using public transport in winter; using public transport all year round; using an electric car; cycling in summer and using a car or motorcycle in winter; car pooling; using a “clean air” car; park and ride; using a car sharing service (Mobility Carsharing).

An allowance is also awarded to personnel who move within 5km of their workplace or those wishing to purchase a bicycle.

Both conventional and electric bicycles are made available to personnel, along with additional incentives depending on the number of kilometres travelled.

Every year, Infomaniak Network takes part in the “Bike to Work” initiative. This Swizz scheme aims to encourage people to cycle to work or use a combination of cycling and public transport.

Personnel travel is minimised and, where possible, replaced with video and audio conferences.

The company avoids air travel. Where this is not possible, corresponding CO2 emissions are fully offset.

Infomaniak has a company car operating on 100% electric power. The vehicle is a saloon car with a 130km range, free of greenhouse gas, fine particle and nitrogen monoxide emissions.

Since 2009, Infomaniak has put its trust in Nest, a pension fund that selects investments on the basis of ecological and social criteria suited to fostering a sustainable economy and society. All investments are examined from an ethical perspective. Notable exclusions include GM crops, weapons, child labour and nuclear energy.

Infomaniak supports a number of nature conservation organisations by donating 1% of turnover from new contracts. These associations include the WWF, the Bruno Manser Fund, and Shipstern Nature Reserve. For more information, please see: https://www.infomaniak.ch/en/environment/support-associations

Infomaniak participates in the “Un toit pour les abeilles.fr" project, which actively helps towards protecting bees and developing colonies by partnering with beekeepers.

The company purchases only servers designed with "low voltage" technology, which consume less energy (low power consumption and heat dissipation,  "80 PLUS" certified power supply).

It systematically gives preference to the purchase of efficient and ecological equipment.
We give preference across the board to the purchase of supplies manufactured locally to our premises.

Companies with an Environmental Charter or who develop environmentally friendly procedures or solutions are given preference over competing products or solutions.

Infomaniak is committed to making suppliers, associates and subcontractors accountable when it comes to the need to work with companies who are committed towards the environment.

As far as possible, Infomaniak avoids purchasing any type of material that includes volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Thus, particular care is taken with items and materials making up walls, floors (fitted carpets) and the entire working environment.

Office cleaning items must only use biodegradable VOC-free products bearing the highest-standard certification mark on the market.

All internal correspondence is by e-mail only. Conventional post or fax is used only when absolutely necessary.

All paper used by the company (printing, envelopes etc) is 100% recycled or FSC certified.

Archiving is always carried out in electronic, non-printed form only, using a digitiser and data storage and protection software.

Customer billing is done on line: customers are encouraged to adopt electronic payment with invoices e-mailed to them in PDF format. An extra charge of 15 CHF is made for paper invoicing.

All waste is sorted and recycled at all levels of production.

Rechargeable batteries are used instead of ordinary batteries for all electronic equipment. Chargers and collection trays for end-of-life items are made available to all personnel. All electrical or electronical and electronic components are collected and recycled by Swico, a specialist service provider.

Printer toner cartridges are collected and recycled by specialist companies.

Collection of bulky waste (scrap metal, glass, plastic, cardboard) is organised several times a year and such waste is sent to a collection centre for processing.

Every office is provided with a dustbin and waste paper basket designated for recycling.