International. Schneider Electric recently launched a novel comprehensive framework for environmentally sustainable data centers, which proposes five areas of environmental impact that include key metrics for data center operators at various stages of their sustainability journeys. By leveraging the framework, operators can mitigate the impact data centers have on the environment.
Data centers are the backbone of today's digital world. They are also responsible for up to two percent of the world's carbon emissions, equivalent to those of the airline industry. To deal with an increase in digital bandwidth and electricity demand from the IT sector, the industry demands a holistic and standardized approach to environmental sustainability.
Pankaj Sharma, Executive Vice President of Schneider Electric's Secure Energy Division, said: "Environmental sustainability reporting is a growing focus for many data center operators. However, the industry lacks a standardized approach to implementing, measuring, and reporting on environmental impact. Schneider Electric developed a holistic framework with standardized metrics to guide operators and the industry at large. Our intention with this framework is to improve benchmarking and progress towards environmental sustainability to protect natural resources for future generations.
"The data center industry has made significant progress in increasing energy efficiency; however, as digital demands increase, they must remain committed to driving broader long-term sustainability initiatives," said Rob Brothers, program vice president for IDC's data center and support services program. You can't have an impact on what you don't measure; therefore, companies must establish clear and consistent metrics that account not only for efficient technology, but also for the consumption (or possible destruction) of natural resources such as water, land and biodiversity."
Increasing pressures from investors, regulators, shareholders, customers and employees also drive the need to improve environmental impact reporting in data center operations. However, many data center operators lack sustainability expertise and face the daunting task of determining which metrics to track and what strategies to implement.
Schneider Electric's framework was developed by its Energy Management Research Center leveraging the expertise of ESG experts, sustainability consultants, data center scientists, and data center solution architects to take the guesswork out of measurement and reporting. The Energy Management Research Center was established in 2002 and has developed more than 200 vendor-independent technical documents and compensation tools available free of charge to the industry.
Data Center Sustainability Metrics Drive Sustainability Strategy
Tracking and reporting on standardized sustainability metrics helps drive improvements in internal team alignment and increases transparency for external stakeholders, including customers and regulators. Implementing this framework also allows data center operators to:
Eliminate the difficulty of selecting impactful metrics for tracking
Improve communication and alignment with internal teams on sustainability goals.
Act on data to improve operations
Enable regular and consistent reporting for external stakeholders (investors, regulators, potential employees, etc.)
Standardize industry peer-to-peer benchmarking around the world
Download the Sustainability Metrics Guide for Data Centers.
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