Title

AWS re:Invent 2022 - Architecting sustainably and reducing your AWS carbon footprint (SUS205)

Summary

• Margaret from AWS's sustainability team discusses AWS's journey towards sustainability, including the Climate Pledge to be net zero carbon by 2040.
• AWS aims to power operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025 and has become the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy.
• Efficiency in data center operations and the use of renewable energy are key to reducing carbon footprint.
• AWS has set a goal to be water positive by 2030, focusing on efficient water use and replenishment.
• The Well-Architected Framework now includes a Sustainability Pillar, emphasizing efficiency and the right use of resources.
• AWS provides mechanisms like the customer carbon footprint tool and proxy metrics to help customers measure and reduce their carbon footprint.
• Elliot Nash from Prime Video shares how they've built a culture of sustainable optimization, focusing on metrics, pilot exercises for instance right-sizing, and embedding sustainability into business practices.
• Prime Video's approach includes setting sustainability goals, using proxy metrics, and implementing an iterative improvement process.
• They conducted pilot exercises to optimize instance types, resulting in significant cost and carbon footprint reductions.
• A design pattern was implemented for Thursday Night Football to scale efficiently and sustainably.
• The talk concludes with a call to action to leverage proxy metrics and create a culture of experimentation to support sustainability objectives.

Insights

• AWS's commitment to sustainability is not just about using renewable energy but also about improving efficiency across all operations.
• The Climate Pledge and AWS's sustainability goals highlight the tech industry's growing responsibility towards environmental impact.
• The introduction of the Sustainability Pillar in the Well-Architected Framework signifies the importance of sustainability in cloud architecture.
• Prime Video's case study illustrates practical steps and benefits of embedding sustainability into technology and business processes.
• The use of custom-built chipsets like Graviton and purpose-built accelerators like AWS Inferentia can lead to significant performance improvements and cost savings while also contributing to sustainability goals.
• The concept of proxy metrics is crucial for businesses to measure and understand their impact on sustainability, as direct metrics like carbon emissions may not be easily controllable.
• The iterative improvement process and pilot exercises for instance right-sizing can serve as a model for other AWS customers looking to optimize their workloads for sustainability.
• Embedding sustainability into the culture and business practices, as demonstrated by Prime Video, can lead to innovation and responsible growth.
• AWS provides tools and resources, such as the AWS compute optimizer and customer carbon footprint tool, to assist customers in making informed decisions about sustainability.
• The talk emphasizes that sustainability should be a normal part of business operations, not an afterthought, and continuous improvement is key to achieving sustainability goals.