The Greener Path: Operational Strategies for a More Sustainable Data Center

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues have risen dramatically up the corporate agenda in recent years. Pressure to align business models with these concerns has never been greater. Chief among these is the ambitious environmental goal of stopping the rise of global temperatures.

Due to increasing demand and energy consumption, data centers are in the ESG spotlight like never before. It’s estimated that, worldwide, these epicenters of connectivity account for about two percent of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—putting their carbon footprint on a par with the global airline industry.

However, despite their historically high carbon footprint, data centers provide a valuable pathway to a greener, more sustainable world. Many digital transformations align with the idea of a more circular, carbon-light economy, and these rely on data centers to run workloads and store information.

Transition to a circular economy in the data center industry requires waste and pollution to be designed out of processes, and the life of products and materials extended. This change can be achieved by switching to green and renewable energy sources, reusing excess heat and rethinking how every data center is designed and managed, right through to end-of-life disposal of buildings and equipment.

Estimates put data centers on par with the airline industry in terms of their total carbon footprint. It doesn’t have to be this way. Explore how industry leaders are creating greener data centers today.