E D I T O R ' S Q U E S T I O N

A confluence of factors is driving this transformation, including rising energy costs, power limitations, heightened regulatory pressure, investor interest and above all, an industry commitment to leading with purpose and continuous innovation. Consequently, sustainability is no longer merely a box to check, but rather a competitive differentiator. Legrand and our customers continue to be at the forefront of this movement. We see sustainability evolving across three core dimensions: energy efficiency, resource management and innovative technology.

Efficiency through design and measurement

Energy efficiency is foundational to data centre sustainability. The industry continues to refine how efficiency is measured, extending beyond power to water use with WUE and carbon with CUE. The Open Compute Project( OCP) is even proposing a new metric, Infrastructure

Utilization Effectiveness( IUE), where Total Active Computational Power is divided by Total Active Server Power. The metric helps with the goal of minimising stranded capacity, improving total cost of ownership( TCO) and guiding infrastructure design and operational decisions.

As a market leader enabling advanced power monitoring, Legrand helps customers measure and improve efficiency metrics with intelligent power solutions by Starline, Raritan and Server Technology. A more detailed explanation of how our advanced power quality measurement aids in efficiency and sustainability can be found in the white paper: Improving Data Center Reliability and Efficiency by Solving Power Quality Pain Points.

Expanding the scope of sustainability

Through resource management, sustainability has expanded to cover everything from e-waste recycling to heat reuse and supply chain emissions. At Legrand, we aggressively pursue waste reduction strategies and have seen tremendous success. For example, in 2023 we reduced over 757 tons of product packaging weight.

We are constantly looking for new ways to drive sustainability further, whether it’ s how our products are manufactured or how our products support the energy efficiency and sustainability efforts of the environment in which they live. By helping our own suppliers reduce GHG emissions 30 % by 2027, we enable our customers to decarbonise upstream.

Innovation as a catalyst

Innovation is key to making gains in sustainability. Legrand is leading the way through eco-design, reducing the energy used by our solutions and in turn, improving data centre efficiency. By 2027, our eco-designed products will enable our customers to avoid 20 million tons of CO 2 emissions. Innovation also flows into manufacturing, packaging and shipping. Through the electrification of manufacturing equipment and the addition of green energy at our production sites, Legrand has reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions 53 % since 2021.

Legrand has also embraced green building certifications. We’ ve achieved ISO 14001 certification across 18 North American facilities and have committed to the Science Based Targets initiative to cut energy-related emissions by 30 % by 2030 and 75 % by 2050.

The evolution of sustainability in data centers is no longer about meeting minimum expectations – it’ s about leading by design.

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