As this article, titled “Sustainability is no longer a ‘nice to have’ goal for the data center industry”, states:
- Data center operators can no longer consider implementing a sustainability strategy as a “checklist item” since failing to meet sustainability targets may result in lost clients, higher rates, and perhaps even carbon taxes or government fees introduced to penalize less “green” companies. In a more stringent scenario, regulation and legislation may induce data center operators that are less efficient or not focused on sustainability to quit their activity altogether if they cannot comply with environmental regulations.
- The data center industry faces pressure from multiple sources — including government, financial markets and corporate clients — to improve sustainability and reduce carbon emissions. A sustainability strategy is no longer a simple “nice to have” item for data center operators; in the future, it may determine whether an operator succeeds or fails. Additionally, with financial organizations at both ends of the data center transaction — as both clients and providers of capital — data center owners and operators will need to meet a wide range of sustainability demands when seeking to fund future projects, particularly as pressure increases for private equity and real estate investors to make more green investments.
With regulatory pressure, investor pressure and customer pressure, all bearing down, data centers need to be proactive and use sustainability certification as a way to differentiate from competitors. This PPP defines the eight items your business should look for in a sustainability program.