Green cloud computing aims to minimize environmental impact through efficient use of computing resources. It utilizes virtualization, automation, pay-per-use billing, and multitenancy to encourage consolidation and high server utilization. This improves energy efficiency and reduces waste. Key metrics for measuring a cloud's environmental footprint include PUE, CUE, and DCP, which calculate energy and resource usage. Dynamic provisioning, multitenancy, virtualization, and data center efficiency techniques help lower energy consumption in cloud infrastructure and software.