In order to run their servers night and day, web hosting companies contribute massively to the earths growing trend of global warming and pollution.

Lately web hosting companies have been going green in an effort to reduce the effect these emissions are having on the environment.

Not all web hosts have the same approach to going green. Some will do more than others but they still show that they care by contributing to the cause. Here are some of the ways Web Hosts can provide green web hosting.

1. CO2 Offsetting - This is where web hosting companies fund projects that work to reduce carbon emissions.  
2. Using Renewable Energy directly - Some web hosting companies now use solar energy and wind to power their heat their operations.  
3. Letting workers telecommute and going paperless.  
4. Planting a tree for every purchase of a web hosting plan.  

Even though we would like to support Web Hosting companies for their effort, there are still other things to consider when it comes to hosting your website. You would still need to make sure that your site is guaranteed maximum uptime, have great technical support and have the best features available to efficiently run your website.

Here are some of the best green web hosting companies that provide the best web hosting service for your website.

Hostgator purchases renewable energy credits to power their servers on 130% Texas wind energy. They aren't satisfied with just being carbon neutral, they want to reverse the effect which they claim to do by providing 130% green web hosting.

After doing a bit of research, I decided to host my sites with Hostgator along with the recommendation of numerous colleages. The support is very quick and efficient from my experience with them and they offer

• unlimited domain hosting
• unlimited bandwidth
• 99.9% uptime
• Cpanel hosting with Fantastico
• Free website builder and lots more.

Host Gator plans are very affordable and I couldn't be happier recommending this green web hosting provider.

Hostpapa purchases 100% green renewable energy certificates for completely offsetting greenhouse gas production by their electricity providers. Their entire energy consumption is calculated and audited and they buy the equivalent in renewable energy certificates from a credible sources.

Hostpapa is also a leader in the web hosting industry, offering very affordable hosting with great features.

• Cpanel hosting w/ Fantastico
• Unlimited domain hosting
• Unlimited bandwidth
• Free bonuses
• Phone/email support as well as live chat
• Guaranteed 99.9% uptime and more

Thinkhost is a green web hosting company that is 100% powered by solar and wind energy. They will also plant a tree on your behalf.

Besides being green, they also have great web hosting features

• Cpanel Hosting
• Host Unlimited domains
• Unlimited Bandwith
• Guarantee 100% Uptime
• Knowledgeable and dedicated support.

I couldn't find a phone number for them though.

GreenGeeks uses wind to power their servers, office and equipment by purchasing wind credits. Not only are they using renewable energy but they are actually helping to reverse the effects of their carbon emissions by puchasing up to 3 times what they product. GreenGeeks is proudly 300% green web hosting.

They offer all the best features along with Cpanel hosting with Fantastico. Plus

• Host unlimited domains
• unlimited transfer
• Great telephone, live chat and email support.
• Guaranteed 100% uptime.

Aiso.net has been a forerunner in green web hosting. They are 100% powered by solar energy that they generate themselves and has been green since 2002.

They are highly respected as leaders in the green web hosting movement.

However their service may not be all that. Here's what one Aiso.net user said about their service with the company.

"We switched to AISO.net 
after reading about them 
in Business 2.0 but I'm 
sad to say that they 
haven't been 
tops. There's no cPanel 
support for Linux and we have had outages during 
important client meetings. Also, our 
clients also complain about the speed of the servers, 
somthing that an advertising agency can't have.  

One shining thing is their tech support is AWESOME! 
I wish they all were like AISO.  If it's a personal 
site, then they are great. And try them out." 

By the year 2020, the web hosting industry will surpass the airline industry in pollution.

When you host your website on one of our best green web hosting companies you are helping to reverse and neutralize the effect that pollution is having on the earth.