Sustainable data centres – how does that work?
It’s easy to forget that pretty much all the IT that we produce and consume in some way in our businesses is actually produced in a data centre. A data centre is a facility where servers and other technical equipment are located, and in simple terms you can say that a data centre is a part of the cloud, a factory where cloud services are produced.
There are currently around nine million data centres, which account for approx. 2% of all carbon dioxide emissions and approx. 3% of all energy consumption worldwide. That’s more than the entire aviation industry. And as we digitalise more and more, energy consumption will also increase. It will therefore be incredibly important to actively choose sustainable data centres for your IT operations. Because if we are to create a more sustainable society, our data centres must also be energy-efficient and environment-friendly.
What characterises a sustainable data centre?
A sustainable data centre is characterised by the fact that it is built specifically for the purpose and is geographically located for optimal energy efficiency. It uses eco-labelled electricity, backup power runs on green fuels and there is also efficient management of surplus heat. For companies to continue to be relevant for their customers and employees in the future, it will be important to look at their climate impact as a whole. Moving their servers and buying cloud services from a sustainable data centre will then be an important element of this.
Data centres in the Nordic region have good basic conditions
Our Nordic countries have particularly good basic conditions for running sustainable data centres. One major challenge facing data centres is namely that they require cooling around the clock, which is often very energy-intensive. Our natural climate provides for efficient, natural cooling, forming a sound base for sustainable data centres. So it’s no surprise that IT giants such as Facebook, Amazon and soon also Microsoft choose to locate their data centres here.
Sustainable IT solutions accelerate a business’s overall sustainability work
By using IT services produced sustainably from the outset, good conditions are created to accelerate a business’s overall sustainability work. Reviewing your data centres, where a modern data centre consumes 25% less energy than the Swedish average and at least 35% less than the EU average, represents a simple yet clear stance for you as a buyer in relation to the supply chain.
We should all strive to use services and products with the least possible environmental impact. And to be able to produce sustainable IT, it is important to make sure that you yourself, or your suppliers, have sustainable data centres in your/their production.
Want to find out more about how you can work towards a more sustainable society through investments in your IT?