In the last year , the data centre industry woke up to the fact that sustainability is no longer a nice optional extra . From Google and Facebook to Digital Realty and Equinix , companies are adopting aggressive and comprehensive carbon neutrality roadmaps .

Based on the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact , here are the five most important steps data centres can take towards reducing their carbon footprint .

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Energy Efficiency

Green power isn ’ t available everywhere , and even if it is , reducing the amount of electricity your data centre uses should be your first and biggest priority . The Pact states that , by January 1 , 2025 , operators in compliance need to achieve PUEs no higher than 1.3 in cool climates , and 1.4 in warm ones .

Clean Energy

Green power is the future , not just of the data centre industry , but our planet as a whole . By December 31 , 2030 , all Pact signatories will be matching 100 % of their energy consumption with renewable energy or hourly carbon-free energy .

Water

The average evaporatively cooled data centre guzzles around 8mn gallons of water per MW of capacity . The industry needs to find ways to reduce water consumption and its impact on the surrounding area .

20 June 2021