The guide offers support for operators on the business case for reducing environmental impact, how data centre infrastructure and complimentary technologies are evolving to support higher utilisation and increased use of renewable energy and best practices for designing and operating low-impact data centres.
A report from the International Energy Agency, data centres account for about 1% of global electricity demand.
The report noted that the industry was able to limit the impact of capacity growth on total energy consumption prior to 2020 by improving operating efficiency.
However, in 2020, global internet traffic surged more than 40% and Market Intelligence projects a 13% compound annual growth rate in data centre construction over the next five years.
That trend, along with the increased focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption has led operators to seek new solutions that increase equipment utilisation and drive out inefficiencies.
“We’re seeing a sense of urgency by operators across the industry to reduce the impact of their operations on the environment, and this new resource is designed to help them do just that,” said TJ Faze, head of ESG strategy & engagement at Vertiv.
“The focus on operational efficiency has enabled significant improvements, but now new strategies and more intelligent systems are required to drive down emissions and water use as the industry continues to grow. As a provider of infrastructure solutions to enterprises, colocation and cloud providers, Vertiv is well-positioned to share best practices and new developments across these sectors.”
Many colocation providers are moving to carbon-neutral and water-efficient operations to capitalise on market demand for data centre services that support their enterprise customers’ environmental goals.
