The Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact said its framework would assess and verify the compliance of operators with its self-regulatory initiative.
Michael Winterson (pictured), chair of the European Data Centre Association (EUDCA), said: “With less than two years until compliance with some of our targets is required, the framework marks an important acceleration in our journey as we place formal, independent verification of our environmental sustainability at the heart of the Pact.”
All signatories to the pact have committed to a range of sustainability goals covering energy efficiency, use of green power, water use, recycling and reuse of waste heat. The auditing framework provides the means to independently verify compliance with these commitments to make data centres climate neutral by 2030, said the EUDCA.
From next year, all signatories will be expected to demonstrate compliance with the initiative using the pact auditing framework.
“It will no longer be possible to simply claim adherence,” said the association. “And pact signatories will stand out for their verifiable sustainability credentials.”
The pact has authorised a range of accredited third-party auditors, including Bureau Veritas, to use the audit framework to assess and certify compliance of individual data centres, operators, or specific tenants with the terms of the pact.
Winterson said: “Today sees the culmination of a detailed project to create a solid foundation to underpin our signatories’ commitments.”
Francisco Mingorance, a pact board member, said: “With this tool, signatories can demonstrate and prove the steps they are taking to comply with the far-reaching commitments set out in the pact’s self-regulator initiative. We do not know of any other industries that have taken such definitive steps to back up sustainability claims.”
Matt Pullen, managing director Europe at CyrusOne, said: “This is a significant step for our sector, and indeed any sector. We will be moving swiftly to achieve certification and to act as a role model for other operators and other businesses by proving we do what we say we’ll do to protect the planet.”
