This year is already seeing record growth in global energy prices in a way we have never seen – this will absolutely have a tremendous impact on businesses across the UK and central Europe who rely on fossil fuels to power their heating and cooling . While the focus may first lie on specifically Small and Medium-Sized Businesses ( SMBs ) who are often hit hardest first , the fact is that the energy caps will impact businesses of all size worldwide .

The massive surge in global Internet traffic and rate at which businesses across the globe are accelerating Digital Transformation initiatives has put massive pressure on our data centres . Already , various analyses estimate that data centres account for 1 – 3 % of global electricity use , with digital technology

Gisli Kr , atNorth ’ s Chief Commercial Officer representing 4 % of all global greenhouse gas emissions . This is a very serious consideration for global business – one that must be addressed with a more sustainable approach .

How critical is the ability to tap into a sustainable infrastructure in the midst of these soaring energy prices ?

It is , in fact , beyond critical – as this crisis is unfortunately showing . We have just been hearing about how some countries in Europe are looking to fire up coal power plants again to help see them through this massive crisis .

These soaring energy prices will have a real lasting impact on the sustainability agenda . While businesses may feel unaffected right now due to their ability to bulk buy or hedge against rising energy prices , the reality is that this is not a shortterm problem .

Sustainability is an issue that our generation and future generations will have to continually manage – it ’ s clear that the UK and Europe need to change their mindset , to be clearer and more aggressive in their actions towards moving

away from fossil fuels to avoid being – quite literally – priced out of the market .

Regions such as the Nordics are in a unique position to offer a sustainable infrastructure due to their use of renewable energy and longstanding government initiatives that aim to better protect the planet . To meet today ’ s data processing demands , the solution must be centred on these regions that can offer renewable energy sources cost efficiently while also wasting less energy on cooling , as the Nordics do already .

One of the biggest questions asked repeatedly today is whose responsibility is sustainability – individuals , business or government ?

As it ’ s been said , there is no Planet B and so we must all play our part in helping to future-proof our Earth . Having said that , we also need to understand that some have bigger roles to play where real differences can be made and seen . For example , businesses are wholly responsible for reevaluating their business and IT operations to understand where savings can be made in light of these soaring prices and what the easiest course of action will be . www . intelligentdatacentres . com

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