Internet company Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) has changed the direction of its climate strategy, announcing that it will no longer purchase carbon offsets for its operations. Instead the company plans to focus on reducing energy use in its data centers.

The company announced in 2007 that it would achieve carbon neutrality through the purchase of offsets.

Yahoo! co-founder and chief executive David Filo posted a statement June 30 on the company's blog stating that it will reduce the carbon intensity of its data centers by at least 40% by 2014.

"We believe creating highly-efficient data centers will have a greater long-term, direct impact on the environment," Filo wrote.

The company also announced plans to build a state-of-the-art data center near Buffalo, N.Y. that will take advantage of the region's hydropower and climate. Instead of energy intensive cooling systems, the building will use 100% outside air for cooling its data servers.

Filo wrote thant the building has been dubbed the Yahoo Computing Coop, because of its resemblance to a chicken coop, and that it would have an annualized average PUE (power usage effectiveness) of 1.1 or better.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently preparing an Energy Star rating system for data centers that will allow operators to assess their energy use relative to industry peers.

Reprinted with permission from Sustainable Business.

Photo of Yahoo campus courtesy of Marketing Shift