INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE POWERED BY THE DCA
society has a material cost. With more
and more transactions, processes and
communication transferring to the online
world, energy usage and greenhouse
gasses are increasing faster in this sector
than most.
A significant proportion of this is embodied
energy in the hardware, which accounts for
roughly 50% of overall impact.
hardware required to generate it, there is
also the energy needed to make the data
centres in the first place, particularly the
IT hardware.
Another factor to consider is our increased
use of digital, which is causing an
explosion in the material cost.
Upcoming projects
While this is far from exclusive to the
data centre sector – it is something we
will need to be increasingly aware of
going forward. The good news is that the
industry is responding with new research
projects into more sustainable solutions. There is good research on the horizon
which should help with the problem. The
Intereg-funded CEDaCI project, which
Techbuyer joined in June 2019, is a three-
year, multi-national project lead by London
South Bank University.
A shift in focus It has set some high targets, which include
increasing reclamation and reuse of
critical raw materials (CRM), extending
product life through equipment reuse and
remanufacture, reducing the use of virgin
materials, waste and the environmental
Historically we have focused on the energy
draw of data centres and the introduction
of wind and solar as a sustainable solution.
Headlines report on issues like Google’s
pledge to power 100% of its data centres
with locally produced renewable energy as
a ‘green story’. However, the use phase is
only part of the story.
Aside from the fact that renewable energy
has its own material cost in terms of the
the circular economy, which will begin
in the near future and generate a white
paper for the industry. Bringing together
representatives from various companies in
the sector, this will produce practical advice
to the industry on how to improve material
usage and system design.
The options for achieving ‘greener’ data centres are numerous,
and varied: but they’re still not the status quo, so not all IT
companies will offer them up easily.
impact arising from the growth in
redundant equipment.
At present, only 10% of CRM from the
sector are recycled and recovered, but
this will increase to 19% and 24% five and
10 years after the project ends; reuse of
equipment will also increase to 65% and
75% respectively and at end-of-life overall
product ‘waste’ will be reduced to 35%
and 25%.
It is an exciting project to be involved with
because it will shine a light on a problem
we have only been able to see parts of
until now. Solid data on the amount of
waste generated by data centres, exactly
which materials it contains and where it
ends up is difficult to find. The ProSUM
project has an excellent resource in its
urban mine platform for the EU, which
tracks the flow of ICT from manufacture,
use to disposal.
The Data Centre Alliance has also invited
us to chair a special interest group on
www.intelligentdatacentres.com
Steve Hone, CEO, DCA
It is a shorter-term project than CEDaCI,
but all the more valuable for that. Outlining
what can be done in the short term is
highly valuable.
In among all this, there is the macro
picture of the fantastic opportunity digital
gives us for a more sustainable future.
Green IT has the potential to be a saviour
when it comes to limiting greenhouse gas
emissions in other sectors.
Visionaries describe a world where
driverless cars are shared between
multiple households, run by an algorithm
that calculates who needs to be picked up
when. Future sharing platforms like these
are hailed as a part of the solution that the
circular economy represents.
As a sector, we can help maximise these
benefits. Analysing the material cost of
digital within the data centre, and taking
steps to reduce this, will help create a
brighter digital future for all. ◊
Issue 09
23