Redefining Sustainability in Data Center Infrastructure

In an interconnected world, data centers form the backbone of the digital revolution. But with great influence comes great responsibility – a responsibility not only to ensure the smooth functioning of our digital world but also to minimize the environmental impact of these critical infrastructures.

How can data centers improve their data center environmental footprints, deploy creative universal and market-specific solutions, and be good neighbors to the communities around their facilities? It takes collaboration, industry-wide focus, and dedication.

Here is how one data center provider’s holistic approach helps chip away at meeting ambitious goals of being a carbon-, waste-, and water-neutral data center provider by 2030. As a leader in the data center industry, EdgeConneX stands at the vanguard of redefining sustainability, proving how data centers can be both eco-conscious and forward-looking in their global operations.

AI at the Forefront: Pioneering New Frontiers in Sustainability

EdgeConneX is focused on innovative ways to leverage technology to not only enhance business operations but drive sustainability forward. Over the past few years, alongside our AI-enabled partner, Gridmatic, we’ve been pioneering the use of artificial intelligence to track and measure 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE) supply and delivery into our data center facilities. 24/7 CFE, which entails tracking carbon-free energy usage in hourly or even more precise increments, can reduce the consumption of carbon-based energy and can be applied to both new and existing data centers. With this innovative approach, EdgeConneX integrated sustainability into the fabric of our operational practices, demonstrating that innovative technologies can transform businesses and our planet.

Designing the Future: Sustainable Data Centers That Adapt

The rapidly evolving landscape of business requirements, particularly with the ascent of AI, demands that the industry engineers data centers uniquely suited to these challenges. EdgeConneX approach is multifaceted – focusing on innovative design including rooftop solar panels, efficient use of renewable energy, and optimal waste management. This integrated strategy ensures that EdgeConneX data centers are at the forefront of environmental efficiency, adapting to today’s changes while laying the groundwork for the challenges of tomorrow.

Fostering Collaboration: The Key to Sustainable Growth

Collaboration is at the heart of the company’s approach to sustainability, as the team works closely with its customers, suppliers, and local communities to develop and implement effective sustainability strategies. By joining forces with peers and partners, EdgeConneX creates a sustainable ecosystem that fosters growth for its business and the planet.

Leading by Example: A Culture of Sustainable Commitment

Practicing what it preaches, EdgeConneX mission includes a holistic Sustainability and ESG policy that emanates through every facet of the company. EdgeConneX concrete goals to become a carbon-, waste-, and water-neutral data center provider by 2030 are not just aspirations but part of its core business model. With a firm commitment to Customers, People, and Planet, the company is dedicated to delivering world-leading sustainable solutions. For maximum transparency, the company publishes annual Sustainability Reports to track milestones, accomplishments, best practices, and share successful approaches to achieving energy efficiency with the industry.

Financing the Future: Innovative Green Finance Mechanisms

The company’s pioneering approach extends to the very way it finances its data center operations. By structuring innovative financing mechanisms around sustainability targets, it has lowered its cost of capital and set a precedent for the industry. These financial mechanisms allow EdgeConneX to simultaneously pursue ambitious sustainability goals and ensure it is providing clients with the most cost-effective and flexible solutions. Raising nearly $5 billion in sustainability-linked financing over the last 1.5 years, EdgeConneX can fuel its global expansion to support its customers’ infrastructure needs. This innovative approach to financing includes a 120MW hyperscale data center campus in Jakarta, Indonesia, three facilities in Malaysia, expansion across its pan-EMEA data center portfolio, and growth throughout Latin America, including Colombia and Chile.

Bespoke Sustainability: Tailoring Green Solutions for Our Customers

Operating with a vision of a future where sustainability is not just an industry buzzword but a reality, EdgeConneX offers bespoke data centers designed with sustainability in mind. With that approach, we can further ensure that our clients’ specific needs are met without compromising on environmental responsibility. With a belief that customization isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity as the industry works collectively to forge a path to a greener and more interconnected world. Using lower-carbon concrete and steel materials, couple with clean energy can drastically reduce a building’s carbon footprint. Innovative cooling and HVAC systems, liquid cooling, battery storage, and water and waste solutions can significantly reduce a data center’s impact on the environment and surrounding communities.

Setting the Standard: Achieving and Exceeding Industry Benchmarks

EdgeConneX works collaboratively with partners, vendors and the rest of the industry, to help meet and exceed the stringent demands of sustainability benchmarks. Our commitment to transparency led the company to achieve the highest rankings in the 2023 Structure Research Environmental Impact Report, highlighting to the broader world that a greener data center is a possibility and a reality.

What’s Next? The Road to 2030 and Beyond

As we look towards 2030, our commitment to sustainability remains unwavering. We must all continuously ask ourselves how we can be greener now and in the future. This question fuels our innovation and our unceasing dedication to the environment. Our recent validation by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) underscores our resolve to remain on the frontline of environmental stewardship within the ICT sector. The SBTi’s Target Validation Team classified EdgeConneX Scope 1 and 2 target ambition as in line with a 1.5°C trajectory, currently the most ambitious designation available through the SBTi process for companies within the ICT sector.

As noted by SBTI: EdgeConneX, International Cooperatief U.A. commits to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 50.3% by 2030 from a 2021 base year*. EdgeConneX, International Cooperatief U.A. also commits to scope 3 emissions 51.6% per MegaWatt of installed data center capacity within the same timeframe. *The target boundary includes biogenic land-related emissions and removals from bioenergy feedstocks.

EdgeConneX sustainable data center infrastructure approach shows that business success and environmental responsibility are not mutually exclusive. It requires vision, commitment, and the innovative application of technology. With a clear focus on customers, people, and our planet, we are reshaping the landscape of the data center industry, leading the charge for a more sustainable digital future. As we all endeavor to make the planet a better place, EdgeConneX unique and multifaceted approach demonstrates that we can forge a path to a sustainable and interconnected world.

Raj Chudgar is Chief Power Officer at EdgeConneX