UNCOMN is Excited to Announce the Codification of the Sustainability Efforts our Team has been Performing over the Years in our UNCOMN Environmental Conservation Management Policy (CMP)!
On March 5, 2024, Mr. Nick Powers, Partner and Chief Growth Officer, signed UNCOMN’s first-ever policy document codifying UNCOMN’s efforts in sustainability in the CMP, kicking off our commitment to undertake an UNCOMN Environmental Management System (EMS).
Key elements to UNCOMN’s EMS include:
- Codifying UNCOMN’s office recycling program to prevent pollution related to our activities and operations and educate our onsite employees on UNCOMN’s recycling program.
- Recommending, developing, and deploying Cloud-based solutions for our clients as a method of reducing emissions
- Seeking out energy providers that engage in carbon emission reduction activities.
- Engaging with the local community on environmental activities
- Continuing to conduct operations in compliance with relevant local environmental regulations and performing a yearly review of the core features of UNCOMN’s EMS in order to continually improve.
Cloud as Key
Cloud Transformation is a key service offering that UNCOMN performs for our clients in the Federal Government and the Department of Defense (DoD), in local State Government, and for Fortune 500 companies. The transition to cloud computing offers businesses scalability, flexibility, and cost savings. However, the transformation also provides a pathway to reducing our environmental impact and advancing toward sustainability goals across key areas, including:
- Energy Efficiency: UNCOMN partners with global cloud operators like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure as they employ cutting-edge, energy-efficient technologies that are prohibitively expensive for individual clients to implement on their own. By consolidating resources in these data centers, UNCOMN’s solutions for Cloud Computing allow businesses and agencies to benefit from these efficiencies at a lower cost—thereby reducing the overall carbon footprint by 88% for the median US enterprise data center.
- Resource Optimization: UNCOMN’s Cloud Solutions leverage virtualization technologies to maximize the use of hardware, leading to less physical hardware requirements for the same computing tasks. This optimization not only reduces the amount of energy consumed but also decreases the environmental impact associated with the production and disposal of hardware—culminating in a decrease in energy consumption between 21% and 34%.
- Collaboration and Telecommuting: UNCOMN’s Cloud Solutions facilitate easier remote work and collaboration through online platforms, reducing the need for travel and office space. This significantly lowers carbon emissions associated with commuting and office operations—potentially reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tons a year.
- Data Center Consolidation: At the nexus of UNCOMN’s Cloud Computing and Data Management Solutions, we develop Cloud-based solutions which ramp up or down according to our clients’ needs. UNCOMN’s Cloud Solutions translate into a greater consolidation of data centers—thereby reducing the number of required independent servers and making it easier to implement energy-efficient practices and technologies across fewer sites with larger scales of operation.
- Sustainable Solutions: UNCOMN only partners with cloud providers that operationalize sustainability initiatives. For example, a key reason we are an AWS Advanced Tier Services Partner is AWS’s commitment to powering their entire infrastructure and operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025—and achieving a goal of net-zero carbon by 2040.
Ultimately, UNCOMN’s commitment to implementing Cloud Transformation extends beyond the day-to-day business needs of our clients to also include key metrics for environmental conservation.
See how we’ve successfully implemented our cloud solutions for the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis here.
Conservation Touchpoints
One of UNCOMN’s core values is to “Cultivate Beauty.” We see our Environmental CMP as just one more way to live up to this value. We therefore prioritize these impactful sustainability initiatives. As a Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) provider of innovative IT solutions across Data, Cybersecurity, and Cloud, UNCOMN has played a part in conservation for years, including environmentally sound disposal of IT equipment, the use of timed lights in our offices, and recycling.
A recent example of this is our continued choice of Ameren Corporation’s energy services due to their Net-Zero Carbon Emission Goal by 2045 and commitment to invest ~$7.5 billion in renewable energy over the next two decades.
Another recent example is our Adopt-A-Highway environmental cleanup commitment in 2024 that requires 4 cleanups per year along IL 177/Mascoutah Ave from Schneider Road to Eidemann Road (~1.5 miles).
Overall, these are small yet impactful examples of how we are implementing our UNCOMN Environmental CMP and EMS to cultivate beauty and a healthy environment in our local community—securing a sustainable future for the next generation.