Infracost Adds Carbon Impact Tracking to Cloud Infrastructure

Infracost has launched a new feature that displays the carbon impact of cloud infrastructure changes directly within developer workflows. This update allows engineers to see environmental data alongside cost estimates before merging code.

The integration addresses a long-standing request from users, providing verified carbon metrics that align with established environmental standards. By combining cost and carbon visibility, the platform aims to drive more sustainable cloud computing practices.

The core functionality of Infracost has expanded beyond financial costs to include environmental impact. The platform now analyzes infrastructure code changes and displays both the monetary expense and the associated carbon footprint.

This dual-metric approach operates within familiar developer tools. When an engineer submits a pull request with Terraform changes, the system automatically calculates and presents the projected impact.

The feature provides a checkout-screen for cloud infrastructure, but with an added layer of sustainability data. Users can see how specific code modifications affect their cloud's environmental footprint.

Key aspects of the new functionality include:

• Real-time carbon impact calculations for infrastructure changes
• Integration with GitHub and GitLab workflows
• Optimization suggestions for reducing both cost and emissions
• Verified data sources for environmental metrics

The carbon data integration was made possible through a partnership with Greenpixie, a UK-based company specializing in environmental metrics. This collaboration solved a critical challenge that had persisted since the platform's early development.

According to the company's co-founder, the request for carbon impact visibility emerged as early as 2020. The primary obstacle was obtaining reliable, verified carbon data that could be accurately mapped to cloud infrastructure components.

The discussions that have happened in the last few years finally led me to a company called Greenpixie in the UK.

Greenpixie's data is verified and meets rigorous standards. The metrics are ISO-14064 certified and aligned with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, ensuring credibility for enterprise use.

The partnership enables Infracost to map carbon data to infrastructure code with the same precision used for pricing information. This technical achievement allows for accurate environmental impact projections before deployment.

Infracost's underlying architecture supports this new capability through its established Pricing Service. This service aggregates live pricing data from major cloud providers, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.

The system maintains approximately 9 million live price points, providing comprehensive coverage for infrastructure cost calculations. This existing data infrastructure served as the blueprint for integrating carbon metrics.

The mapping process works by:

1. Collecting raw carbon data from verified sources
2. Mapping carbon metrics to specific infrastructure components
3. Calculating impact based on code changes in pull requests
4. Presenting results alongside cost estimates in developer tools

The company has been iterating on this product since 2020, when it participated in the Y Combinator W21 batch. This extended development period allowed for refining the pricing service before expanding into environmental data.

The integration creates a powerful synergy between cost reduction and carbon reduction. In most cases, optimizing for one naturally improves the other, providing engineers with multiple incentives for sustainable practices.

Some organizations may prioritize carbon reduction due to corporate sustainability mandates, while others focus primarily on cost efficiency. The feature accommodates both motivations by presenting them as interconnected metrics.

For those who care, cost and carbon are actually linked; meaning if you reduce the carbon, you usually reduce the cost of the cloud too.

This dual benefit addresses different organizational priorities:

• Engineering teams focused on efficiency and optimization
• Corporate sustainability initiatives and ESG reporting
• Cost-conscious organizations seeking operational savings
• Environmentally conscious developers wanting to reduce impact

The feature is now available for immediate use through the Infracost dashboard, with integration options for GitHub and GitLab workflows.

The addition of carbon impact tracking represents a significant evolution in cloud infrastructure management. It moves beyond traditional cost optimization to include environmental responsibility as a core metric.

As cloud computing continues to grow, tools that provide visibility into both financial and environmental impacts will become increasingly valuable. This development positions Infracost at the intersection of technical efficiency and sustainability.

The feature is now live and accessible to all users. Engineers can begin testing the carbon impact visibility by setting up the GitHub or GitLab app and submitting pull requests with Terraform changes.