DESIGN & BUILD
Data centres are the backbone of the digital economy, but their rapid growth brings mounting environmental challenges. From energy-hungry AI workloads to water-intensive cooling, operators face pressure to cut carbon, conserve resources and design for long-term sustainability.
The latest wave of green data centre innovation blends clean power sourcing, high-efficiency cooling, heat reuse and low-impact construction, setting new benchmarks for how critical infrastructure can expand while reducing its environmental footprint.
Selecting locations with reliable energy Sustainability starts at site selection. Leading data centre operators are looking beyond land and latency to grid carbon intensity, interconnection lead-times and access to reliable, clean power.
Hyperscalers are now structuring long-term, location-specific cleanenergy deals and, in some cases, securing dedicated low-carbon generation to de-risk growth.
Data centre operators are flocking to regions with geographical advantages, such as cooler climates and proximity to fresh water supplies.
Striving for greener efficiency Right-sizing and right-sourcing power is only half the picture – operators then have to use it efficiently.
Wildflowers bloom around cooling towers at a Google data centre in Iowa
Power Usage Effectiveness( PUE) remains the workhorse metric, and leaders still squeeze it hard. For instance, Google reported a trailingtwelve-month PUE of 1.09 for Q1 2025 across its global fleet, demonstrating that best-in-class levels are possible at hyperscale even as AI drives density.
Cooling innovation is another strategic consideration for data centre operators with sustainability in mind. AI clusters push racks well beyond 30 – 100kW, which makes full- or hybrid-liquid designs the default for new high-density halls. Industry data and market activity
94 October 2025