INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE POWERED BY THE DCA
Exploring the possibilities of
‘ green data centres ’
Achieving sustainable status when it comes to running a data centre is a top priority across the industry . Astrid Wynne , Techbuyer Sustainability Lead , discusses the various ways in which data centre leaders can drive change and ensure green operations .
Data centres are the engine rooms of the digital revolution and servers are the heavy machinery . With the conversation on sustainability moving beyond energy efficiency into embodied energy savings and Circular Economy approaches , finding the sweet spot of optimising electricity usage and reducing IT waste is the goal . A server refresh can massively improve the carbon footprint of energy use , but the materials needed for this are a finite resource . So , how can we balance the two ?
Servers , storage and networking are environmentally expensive to produce . Servers consist of around 40 % steel , 11 % aluminium and 3 % plastics according to an article published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology . Research by Nottingham Trent University , the University of Bath and University of Leeds says the production of these three materials are among the top five worst offenders for industrial greenhouse gas emissions worldwide , and account for 32 % of global output between them .
Greenhouse gas emissions are not the only negative side effect of IT infrastructure production . The large amount of wastewater generated by mining and manufacturing contributes to the scarcity of fresh water worldwide . Leach residue created when gold and copper are mined and refined gives off by-products known as sulphidic tailings . When these are destroyed , toxic chemicals are released into the atmosphere that have been linked to Cardiovascular Disease ( CVD ) and cancer .
In addition , six of the 27 Critical Raw Materials ( CRM ) – identified by the EU as either in short supply or whose source is potentially vulnerable to political change – are present in IT equipment . These include Cobalt , Palladium , Tungsten , Antimony , Bismuth , Neodymium and Tantalum . Alongside other materials present in IT hardware like copper , these materials are also in high demand in other ‘ green ’ sectors such as renewable energy infrastructure . Scarcity is already resulting in huge price rises on these commodities . The problem is made worse by the fact that many of them are predicted to run out in decades .
The materials in electronic equipment are present in trace amounts , amalgams and coatings , making them practically impossible to recover with mainstream recycling technology .
Although more efficient processes are on the horizon – such as bioleaching and pyrolysis – these are in the early stages . In general , recyclers are currently more focused on other valuable www . intelligentdatacentres . com
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