I’ve always loved building things. At Akamai, I get to be part of a team that builds amazing things — things that power and protect online experiences and make life better for billions of people, billions of times a day. But delivering those online experiences comes with a catch. 

\r\n As people have become increasingly reliant on the internet, driving traffic up exponentially, energy demand has skyrocketed. In fact, data centers are estimated to consume 1% of all global electricity demand. More energy consumption means more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a major contributor of global climate change.

\r\n Ahead of the trend

\r\n When I joined Akamai in 1999, the reduction of energy use was not high on the industry’s priority list. The web was still in its infancy and most people were focused on building the applications and infrastructure that formed the foundation of online life.…