Architecting the Net-Zero Frontier: Systemic Implementation Strategies for Sustainable Infrastructure in the AWS Ecosystem
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35870/ijsecs.v6i1.6609Keywords:
Net-Zero Cloud Computing, AWS Shared Responsibility Model, Geographic Carbon Intensity, Temporal Workload Shifting, Silicon-Level OptimizationAbstract
Global digital infrastructure in 2026 operates under mounting pressure from climate regulation, tightening energy policy, and growing demands for corporate environmental accountability. Cloud migration is frequently positioned as a straightforward path to sustainability — yet that assumption holds only when customers take deliberate responsibility for what runs inside the cloud. The AWS Shared Responsibility Model makes this obligation explicit: AWS governs the physical layer, while customers own the workload architecture and its carbon consequences. This paper examines how sustainability principles — environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic resilience — can be systematically embedded into AWS IT project delivery. Drawing on empirical data from 2025–2026, we propose a three-layered decision-making model anchored in Silicon-Level Optimization, Geographic Carbon Intensity (GCI), and Temporal Workload Shifting. Each layer addresses a distinct decision horizon, from hardware selection at the design phase through operational lifecycle governance. Projects that adopted this model recorded a 30% reduction in carbon emissions and a 22% decrease in total cost of ownership (TCO), demonstrating that environmental responsibility and financial performance are not competing objectives.
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