Time to Take a Measured Approach to Sustainability

Financial metrics are no longer the only measurement shareholders consider when evaluating company performance. Many organizations now report on sustainability to communicate commitments to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) programs.

Driven by edge initiatives, such as industrial IoT, global data production is expected to grow 25% by 2025. The rate of data creation should outpace storage capacity growth during this time frame. The data centers required to store this information represent one-to-two percent of the world’s electricity use, and the need for additional facilities will only add to that figure. And though the industry has enjoyed incredible efficiency improvements, it’s unclear if those efficiency gains can offset data center energy demands in the years to come.

For a sustainable future, the data center industry must measure and develop plans for its unique characteristics, such as high energy intensity, rapid growth, large power consumption and water usage. Specialized metrics measure these characteristics, and those metrics need standardization to improve adoption, benchmarking, and sustainability progress.

The way forward, then, is through careful measurement. 

Time for a more robust set of standardized metrics

Surprisingly, there was no standardized metric for measuring data center energy efficiency until 2007. It was then that The Green Grid developed its Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) metric. Having a standard measurement helped. Since its inception, average annual PUE in large data centers have improved. PUE is an important metric and has guided the data center industry in a more sustainable direction. Now, it’s time to go further.

Regulations, including Title 24, as well as several ASHRAE standards, require newly constructed buildings to adhere to a list of environmental considerations. For example, the year 2022 amendments to California’s Title 24 stipulate that new buildings limit the unnecessary consumption of energy. The Title’s update covers impacts in everything from aesthetics to air quality to greenhouse gas emissions. Companies that break new ground, including data center operators, will need additional metrics to measure how their buildings live up to these environmental standards. 

Existing frameworks pave way for sustainability categories

Data center operators developing sustainability metrics can consider existing frameworks. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) outlines a methodology for reaching net-zero emissions. Rather than reinvent the wheel, organizations can leverage that methodology and its milestones in their evaluation of data center sustainability. Every metric that companies develop will depend on where along that journey they are. 

Once leadership identifies whether it is beginning, advanced or leading in its sustainability endeavors, it can then consider five major categories for metric development. Each of these categories represents one major facet of a holistic sustainability approach. They are as follows:

• Energy. Data centers use an immense amount of energy. As physical data center volume and usage grows, energy efficiency will remain of utmost importance.
• Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions. Greenhouse gases are major contributors to climate change. Every data center operator must be able to quantify emissions and removal and regularly report on said metrics.
• Water. The heat data centers generate require water for cooling, to the tune of 25 million liters of water each year for a 1MW data center. And cooling isn’t the only form of water use. New metrics can help operators measure water consumption against sustainability goals.
• Waste. Construction and operation of data centers generates waste. Metrics that help operators limit this output and minimize supply chain waste generation can have a substantial impact on a data center’s environmental footprint.
• Land and Biodiversity. Some industries, such as mining, measure their impacts on land and the creatures that inhabit it. The data center industry must adopt that practice to understand new installments’ effect on the surrounding ecosystems. 

Recognizable metrics help operators track against sustainability goals

Metric tons of carbon dioxide, kilowatt hours, square meters, and their like are recognizable metrics that operators can implement within each of these categories. For example, an operator that is just beginning its sustainability journey may measure just total energy consumption, location-based greenhouse gas emissions, and total site water usage. A leading operator will measure each of those outputs, as well as additional metrics within each of the five major categories. Each operator at the beginning of its journey should aim to measure and report on as many as 23 different metrics that leading organizations already consider. 

Of course, this array of metrics brings us back to standardization. How can an operator know it is measuring each metric appropriately? And how does it know what sorts of targets to set and how to report those target metrics?

Luckily, there are several frameworks various organizations have established for these purposes. From LEED certification to GHG Protocol Accounting and Reporting Standard, frameworks, calls to action and rating systems are available to help guide each operator as it determines its metrics and measurement and reporting strategies.

Standardized metrics help bottom line, bigger-picture outcomes

Countries the world over are focusing on #sustainability, implementing new regulations, or phasing out the use of certain materials. Companies are following suit, asking that data center operators commit to sustainability goals. Improving efficiencies in climate-impacting areas also reduces costs. There are clear business benefits to improving sustainability; but we shouldn’t prioritize improvements just for our bottom line’s sake. Limiting environmental impact is good for us all. It’s long past time to adopt standardized metrics and follow through with sustainability goals.