SUSTAINABILITY
Low-carbon construction and materials Sustainable design extends beyond hardware into the physical construction of data centres. Meta is piloting lowcarbon concrete, using alternatives such as fly ash and slag to reduce embodied emissions. The company is also investing in AI-assisted methods to optimise concrete formulations, improving both performance and carbon outcomes.
In 2025, Meta introduced mass timber in data centre campus construction, starting with an administration building in South Carolina.
This material substitution reduces reliance on emissions-intensive steel while maintaining structural performance.
Back-up power systems are also evolving. The adoption of hydrotreated vegetable oil( HVO) as a diesel alternative has expanded from its Clonee facility in Ireland to multiple North American sites, reducing operational emissions associated with standby generation.
These initiatives demonstrate how sustainable design principles are applied consistently across the full lifecycle of data centre assets, from groundworks to operations.
112 June 2026