IDEALLY , THE DATA CENTRE INDUSTRY WOULD ADOPT AN ALIGNED APPROACH TO ‘ WHOSE ENERGY IS IT ’ TO ACCURATELY REPORT OUR INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE EFFORTS TOWARDS NET ZERO GOALS .
EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
ecent world events have demonstrated
R how fragile our energy markets can be , especially with conflicts that spark increases in global energy prices . Looking beyond the potential for global events to impact near-term pricing , we ’ re all gaining a better appreciation that the ‘ energy crisis ’ and ‘ climate crisis ’ are fundamentally related . We cannot address them successfully as separate issues , and the carbon footprint of things we buy , including energy , is now an indicator of embodied risk . Risk of supply interruptions , increasing regulation and unsustainable ( as in no longer practical ) future business practices .
Data centres are naturally focused on mitigating risk , therefore it is not surprising that the largest supporters of carbon-free energy are from within the data centre industry . Electricity consumption is our most readily addressable area for positive environmental impact and a necessary first element in any net zero plan . Today the purchase of clean power has become the norm , rather than a differentiator . Or has it ?
The question is , whose power is the data centre operator making green ? There is inconsistency within the industry on whether the colocation customer reports the energy consumed by their servers as their own Scope 2 responsibility , or the data centre operator that purchases the energy for the site reports it as their own . One thing most basic to climate science supporting the fight against climate change is that we need good data and no double counting .
Ideally , the data centre industry would adopt an aligned approach to ‘ whose energy is it ’ to accurately report our individual and collective efforts towards net zero goals .
Why does it matter who claims the energy if the operator is making it all clean anyway ? The risk is that the operator is not . Operators might set initial targets focused on their own Scope 1 and Scope 2 operational ( non-IT load ) emissions , leaving the massive amount of IT MWHs outside of their carbon reduction goals . The data centre then has a shorter path towards net zero operations while avoiding the far greater impact of decarbonising most of the energy the site purchases . Colocation data centres are the energy supply chain for their customers . This creates a unique and impactful opportunity for data centre providers to help customers achieve their goals by decarbonising the energy they consume .
Decarbonising our consumption each hour of every day will have a massive impact on combatting future climate change . As large energy buyers , we can make a material difference in support of a sustainable digital future . Despite the challenges , every data centre provider ’ s net zero plan begins with energy and should leverage the unique opportunity to help customers achieve their own decarbonisation goals by including all electricity the site consumes . �
IDEALLY , THE DATA CENTRE INDUSTRY WOULD ADOPT AN ALIGNED APPROACH TO ‘ WHOSE ENERGY IS IT ’ TO ACCURATELY REPORT OUR INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE EFFORTS TOWARDS NET ZERO GOALS .
CHRIS PENNINGTON , DIRECTOR OF ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY , IRON MOUNTAIN
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