DATA4 GROUP
“ IF YOU WERE TO GO BACK FIVE YEARS , I DON ' T THINK ANYBODY FORESAW THE SCALE AT WHICH THIS THING WOULD TAKE OFF ”
ADAM LEVINE CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER , DATA4 GROUP
was always going to be big , but the scale has been insane . And so , the way we ' re preparing for that is through sustainability ,” says Levine .
Data4Good is Data4 ’ s corporate responsibility programme , which consists of four main pillars .
“ We ’ re promoting digital responsibility and looking to reduce the environmental footprint of our activities . We are looking to be a committed player at the heart of our ecosystem . Not just at the data centre level , but to give back to the communities . To invest in education , in the environment and in the local environment in which we operate . And then , ensuring good working conditions for our employees .”
Alongside this , Data4 has also signed up to the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact – a pledge of industry players and trade associations of data centres in Europe committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2030 – and has implemented a circular economy approach across its operations .
“ We look to inject a view of sustainability on everything we do , throughout the life cycle of the data centre , its design , construction , operation and end of life .”
By developing a life cycle analysis of its data centres , Data4 can now accurately calculate the global environmental footprint of its data centres , from inception to end of life ( or from cradle to grave , so to speak ).
Sustainability is absolutely imperative to Data4 , and its extensive eco-conscious innovations include the use of low-carbon concrete , lithium ion batteries , and an equipment waste recycling programme .
For Levine , beyond being a part of the company ’ s ethos , company expansion cannot exist without sustainable focus .
“ Our customers are pushing us to be a lot more conscious and to measure our environmental impact . We ' re having to measure this , not just for ourselves and our own sense of responsibility , but our customers are pushing us to .”
“ I ' m fairly sure that , in the next round of contracts that we ' ve got coming down the pipeline , we will have strong , solid commitments with financial penalties revolving around waste recycling , carbon footprint , carbon utilisation and so on .”
“ So , I don ' t think you can talk about how we ' re planning for the growth in the future , without talking about sustainability .”
datacentremagazine . com 159