Greenpeace is lashing out at some of the world's largest technology firms over their datacentre practices.

The environmental watchdog group said in its 'Dirty Data Report' [PDF] that companies running large-scale cloud services are neglecting to adopt green energy practices and policies at the datacentre facilities.

The company pointed to vendors such as Facebook, Apple and Google as making poor choices in selecting green energy sources for their datacentre.

"Across the board, IT companies have thus far failed to commit to clean energy in the same way they are embracing energy efficiency, which is holding the sector back from being truly green," Greenpeace said in the report.

By failing to consider alternative energy sources when building facilities, the group argues that many vendors are driving up their carbon footprints and further damaging the environment.

Among Greenpeace's biggest complaints was the locations in which many firms are building their datacentre facilities. In particular, the group singled out Apple, Google and Facebook for their choices of venue.

All three firms have established datacentres in North Carolina, a region that Greenpeace has labelled as the 'Dirty Data Triangle.' The group said that the area in which the datacentres are located is particularly reliant on coal for generating electricity.

Source: http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2045667/greenpeace-criticise-cloud-providers-dirty-energy-practices#ixzz1KcPRXxNj