Rackspace, a provider of managed hosting services, today announced to offer carbon neutral web hosting.

Rackspace has partnered with the International Tree Foundation, to create a new package that includes sufficient tree planting to offset the carbon emissions produced by each customer's hosting solution.

According to the company, whilst online services can reduce the need for the printing of paperwork and direct mail, web hosting inevitably consumes electricity, and the generation of this power produces carbon emissions. In order to compensate for this, the quantity of carbon emitted is calculated and then trees are planted to offset this amount. Through its partnership with The International Tree Foundation, Rackspace makes it easy for its customers to opt for carbon neutral hosting by including appropriate tree planting within the solutions it offers.

For the online applications hosted by Rackspace that opt in to go carbon neutral, one tree will be planted for every dedicated server used. As the managed hosting provider, server requirements at Rackspace are increasing at a rate of 80 per cent per year, this equates to between 200-300 new servers a month.

"This is the first time that the International Tree Foundation has entered into a deal of this kind. Businesses have long had the option of using recycled paper in the office, but as the website and electronic communications become more important, it is encouraging that a web hosting company as significant and high-profile as Rackspace is setting this benchmark for the rest of the industry to follow," said Tony Warne, Chairman of The International Tree Foundation.

"Rackspace's clients, which include everything from blue chip, multi-national enterprises to innovative start-ups, are increasingly looking for ways to minimise the negative impact they have on the environment. Rackspace is working with the International Tree Foundation to offer organisations the opportunity to have carbon neutral hosting. This move reflects Rackspace's commitment to offering Fanatical Support to its customers by going the extra mile," said Jacques Greyling, Managing Director, Rackspace.