ARK DATA CENTRES
“ At the moment , buying energy is quite tricky given where the energy market is , but it ' s not just about buying sustainable and renewable energy . It ' s also about how we make sure that the energy is used as efficiently as possible , and how we also report and share that with our customers ,” says Squire .
“ As part of sustainability and energy efficiency , it will move away from just energy efficiency to water efficiency , to heat reuse , to asking how we begin to report under the greenhouse gas protocols .”
Increasing emissions demand efficiency systems With continuous improvement and sustainability embedded in the company ’ s DNA , the firm is working on ways to mitigate unnecessary emissions and push further efficiencies across its facilities .
Systems are put in place to not only to prolong the lives of data centres — cooling as an example — but to make operations more efficient . These solutions are important for reducing the environmental impacts of data centres , but Squire believes there are current limitations on emissions reduction , which will require further means of action .
To put it simply : “ what are we going to do for offsetting ?,” asks Squire .
“ Because at some point we ' ll have minimised our energy demand to a point where we can ' t cut it down anymore . CO2 will be down at the very limit , but to get to net zero , we ' re going to have to offset it .”
95 % of Ark Data Centre facilities are totally recyclable at end of life
EXECUTIVE BIO
PIP SQUIRE
TITLE : HEAD OF ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY
INDUSTRY : DATA CENTRES LOCATION : CORSHAM , WILTSHIRE
Pip Squire obtained his Geology
Degree from Oxford University in 1979 , followed by three years of exploration in southern Africa . In 1982 , he returned to Imperial College where he gained an MSc in Engineering Geology with Distinction .
With a foundation degree in earth sciences , sustainability has been at the core of Squire ’ s career and echoes across design and operations at Ark data centres and campuses .
Squire moved from engineering geology and foundation design on large hydro-electric projects around the world , to nuclear waste management , airport engineering and into the power industry in 1996 .
From 1999 to 2008 , he led the European renewable energy team for a large US Construction Company , with a particular focus on hydro , marine and tidal power systems . By combining the company ’ s power and telecom expertise he broadened the company offering to data centres . He moved to Ark and a full time career in data centres from 2008 , first as Engineering and Projects Director , then Head of Design and Build , through Head of Design , Energy & Innovation to his current position as Head of Energy and Sustainability .
Over the last 14 years , Pip has led the successful planning , design and construction of over 100MW ( IT ) of tier three data halls in 12 data centres across three data centre campuses .
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