KATIE MCGINTY
THE DATA CENTRE INTERVIEW
data centre projects grow in scale, the effect a facility has on the people who live beside it has become a central question in the planning process. Opposition to new sites is frequently put down to a lack of public understanding, though that explanation leaves open the question of whether communities believe the costs they carry are matched by the benefits they receive. In this exclusive interview, Katie McGinty, VP and Chief Sustainability and External Relations Officer at Johnson Controls, speaks to Data Centre Magazine about where community concerns originate and the part suppliers of cooling and building technologies can play in addressing them.
Johnson Controls provides equipment and systems to data centre operators and developers, which places the company at the design stage of a project, where many of the decisions that affect neighbours are made. Katie sets out when engagement with residents should begin and who should lead it. She also discusses which forms of local value change how a project is received, and how far concerns over energy and water can be resolved through technology choices or disclosure. Finally, she considers how the industry could measure whether trust has been established in the years after a facility opens.
Closing the data centre information gap Katie describes the current debate as the product of two developments running in parallel.“ The conversation around data centres is being shaped by two realities,” she says.“ Communities are rightly focused on issues such as energy, water, noise, land use and quality of life. At the same time, technology itself is evolving at an extraordinary pace to address each of these concerns.
“ What is often missed is how quickly the equation is changing. Just 18 months ago, a gigawatt-scale data centre could represent a small city’ s worth of water consumption and significant energy demand.“ Today, many cooling solutions can deliver the same cooling performance with zero on-site water use, while advances in chip design and thermal management can cut cooling-related energy consumption in half.”
KATIE MCGINTY
TITLE: VP AND CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS OFFICER
COMPANY: JOHNSON CONTROLS
INDUSTRY: BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES
Kathleen‘ Katie’ McGinty is a global leader helping solve one of the defining challenges of our time: delivering the energy-efficient infrastructure required for an increasingly electrified and AI-powered world. She leads the company’ s sustainability strategy, government relations and external engagement efforts, helping customers convert energy efficiency into growth, resilience and business advantage.
24 October 2026