Exclusive: Rising Digital Demands Drive Sustainability Focus in Data Centres

As data centres expand to meet the increasing digital demands, sustainability emerges as a pressing concern. According to a 2024 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), electricity consumption from global data centres is projected to exceed 1,000 TWh by 2026, up from 460 TWh in 2022. This surge in energy use, coupled with heightened environmental expectations and stringent regulations such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), necessitates a critical reassessment of data centre operations.

By Henrique Cecci, Sr Director at Gartner

Due to these regulations, organisations are now compelled to prioritise energy efficiency and water conservation, and minimise environmental impact in powering, cooling, and maintaining their facilities. In this evolving landscape, data centre operators face the dual challenge of accommodating escalating capacity needs while adhering to new sustainability government requirements.

Traditionally, power usage effectiveness (PUE) was the primary metric for assessing efficiency. However, it falls short in capturing the full environmental performance of data centres.

To address this gap, infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders are encouraged to adopt a broader range of sustainability metrics such as water usage effectiveness (WUE), carbon usage effectiveness (CUE), renewable energy factor (REF), and energy reuse effectiveness (ERE). These metrics consider the complex interdependencies of energy use, water consumption, and carbon intensity. By integrating them into daily operations and long-term strategic planning, I&O leaders can achieve a comprehensive understanding of their ecological footprint. This approach not only drives continuous improvement but also ensures alignment with evolving regulations and stakeholder expectations for sustainable IT infrastructures.

Implement Integrated Metric-Based Management

Integrated metric-based management not only provides detailed insights but also centralises sustainability metrics within dashboards or reporting platforms, promoting collaboration among data centre managers, facilities, IT operations, and sustainability teams. This cohesive approach allows for quick, informed decision-making.

For instance, if the CUE metric rises due to dependence on a carbon-intensive power grid, leadership can quickly implement solutions such as renegotiating energy supply contracts or adding on-site renewable energy sources. Likewise, if the WUE metric increases, the operations team can investigate more efficient water reuse or cooling technologies. By connecting these metrics, Infrastructure and Operations (I&O) leaders can make strategic decisions that optimise resource consumption and improve operational performance, ensuring adherence to regulations and fulfilling stakeholder expectations for sustainable practices.

Pursue Continuous Improvement in Metric Quality

While most I&O leaders utilise metrics, the quality of these metrics may not always yield reliable results for ongoing infrastructure optimisation. The metrics in use today might differ from those needed to measure future progress towards infrastructure efficiency. Identifying effective and actionable metrics is an ongoing process that requires continuous effort and discipline. To meet these objectives, it is advisable to incorporate comprehensive details when developing data centre metrics and to conduct regular reviews of the metrics and their targets—such as quarterly or semi-annually, depending on the type of metric.