Circularity and AI-driven efficiency reshape data centre sustainability
SUSTAINABILITY
CREDIT: DELL
DELL TECHNOLOGIES
Circularity and AI-driven efficiency reshape data centre sustainability
Dell Technologies has placed circular design at the centre of its data centre strategy, driven by a 25-year commitment to equipment takeback programmes that recover components from legacy servers and storage arrays.
The company’ s approach transforms decommissioned hardware into resources for new systems, reducing e-waste whilst supporting a more efficient IT supply chain. Jennifer‘ JJ’ Davis, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, describes the philosophy as turning trash into treasure through systematic material recovery aligned with customer refresh cycles.
Beyond hardware recycling, Dell has introduced PowerCool liquid cooling innovations that reduce energy consumption in hyperscale environments.
The company’ s Concept Astro platform leverages agentic AI and digital twins to optimise workload scheduling, enabling intensive computing tasks to run when renewable energy is most available.
This combination of circular infrastructure and intelligent energy management addresses the dual challenge of rising AI workloads and mounting environmental scrutiny across the data centre sector.
“We want to turn trash into treasure”
Jennifer‘ JJ’ Davis,
Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs,
Dell Technologies
182 December 2025