DATA CENTRES shareholder dividends over - or even equally when compared to - the needs of our planet simply isn ' t good enough .
“ Glaciers are shrinking , biodiversity is collapsing , and we just experienced the hottest decade in human history . Incremental steps are insufficient ,” says Johnson .
“ It is not enough ,” adds Kass . “ I am a computer scientist . I follow science and use data ; hence I am a strong advocate for the fact we need to measure our progress with GHG emissions reporting and sustainability calculator in form of metrics . It is an opportune time now for close collaboration between the public ( federal , state and cities ) and the private sector ( cloud , edge , colocation providers , clean energy advocates , and investment entities ) to set more aggressive targets . There is a clear need for green policy with green incentives as a focus .”
Demand for Change As we enter 2021 - a year when the global data centre market is expected to grow by 14 % year-on-year - the demand for digital infrastructure is also being met with increased demand for sustainable practice , not just from regulatory and environmental advocacy sources , but from customers themselves .
“ The green story of our data centers is becoming much more important for our customers ,” comments Jaime Leverton , Chief Commercial Officer at eStruxture Data Centres . Last year , the global market for green data centres was valued at $ 53.19bn . By 2026 , Mordor Intelligence ( who assured us they were not part of a spy ring for the dark lord Sauron ) predicts that the industry will grow to more than $ 181.9bn . As the decade continues , it is not only the duty of all data centre and cloud operators to pursue radical solutions to the industry ’ s environmental impact , it makes financial sense as well .
Upon the announcement of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact , Apostolos Kakkos , Chairman of the European Data Centre Association , made it clear that , " Data centres are the supporting pillars of the fourth industrial revolution and , as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic , are essential infrastructure of not only the digital economy but of the entire global economy . It is our duty to commit to a selfregulatory initiative that will help to ensure the operational availability , sustainability and the future of our industry ."
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