The words ‘data centre’ and ‘green energy’ do not historically go hand in hand. The exponential growth of data centres in the last 10 years has not gone unnoticed by environmentalists for the massive carbon footprint they stamp in their wake.

And with good reason. Alone they are estimated to consume between 1 and 3 per cent of the world’s power and it’s predicted that by 2025 they will consume 20 per cent of the world’s energy, according to my Swedish research colleague Anders Andrae. Data centres will amount to ICT’s largest share of global electricity production at 33 per cent, followed by smartphones at 15 per cent.

With this in mind, it’s unsurprising that the EU Commission announced this year that the data centre industry must become climate neutral by 2030.

In order to stand a chance of reaching this goal, the first step has been to identify why data centres have become giants in their own right. The answer is simple: the overall exponential energy appetite is triggered by a growing need from companies and consumers for more digital services which require more data centre facilities.

Although we are yet to see the full impact of Covid-19 and subsequent increase in digital activity caused by working from home, 2020 will surely be a big year for data centres.

Realistically, we are unlikely to see a slowdown in energy appetite, and while the industry is increasingly accused of its impact on the environment, data centre companies have been proactively seeking ways to decrease their environmental footprint.

With technology at the core of the data centre business, the sector is better placed than many others in real estate to address this issue.

Practically speaking, there are many ways to make the industry more ‘green’, the most straightforward being to avoid fossil fuels. Data centres are well-suited to benefit from renewable energy sources due to their stable power consumption; wider availability of such energy has enabled a reduction in price.

The less energy a data centre uses, the higher the provider’s profit margin, hence becoming energy efficient makes as much commercial sense as it does environmental.

Yet perhaps the most important step is to anticipate energy efficiency when designing a data centre, notably by adopting the latest building technologies and using sustainable materials. Green building certifications, including BREEAM and LEED, have adopted new auditing methods specifically for data centres.

With the amount of computing quintupling between 2010-2018, and during this time the amount of energy consumed by data centres growing by only 6 per cent, we are clearly on the right track.

While much progress has been made in the sector, there is likely to be more investment in the coming years to help the data centre industry to become carbon neutral. At the epicentre of technology, we can expect great things from this giant asset class to address the green issue quickly and successfully.

Further information 

Contact Lydia Brissy

Contact Savills Sustainability