Source: Kohler Data Centers
The fine print is fascinating. The call-outs range from concretely tactical “audit the electron” to high-level strategic “want a metric on consumed energy,” then transcend to philosophical “who decides what’s best for the world.” We follow these highlights like a trail of thought-provoking breadcrumbs, eager for more as we pursue the path to a sustainable digital future.
What can we conclude from all this enthusiasm for data center sustainability? I think it’s safe to say that since top industry leaders are clamoring for next steps, there is sufficient interest and activation energy to force movement in 2022. And from the intense focus on operational inputs recorded above – measurement, reporting, capture, metrics, baselines – my money is on Operations to be the first movers. In fact, I recently saw a blog post from Salute Mission Critical evangelizing the sustainability benefits of highly optimized data center operations. It’s no surprise that a world-class provider of critical environment services can translate their extensive global experience in the field into increased efficiency. In the past this added efficiency was a fringe benefit of running a tight ship, whereas now it appears that sustainability is starting to be productized! But this makes perfect sense. Solutioneering at the operational-level confirms what we heard from industry leaders when we came together in October: we need a large, holistic, “biosphere” approach that includes, but supersedes PUE, and starts at the fundamental level.
What’s even more interesting is that this movement follows the greater Enterprise direction for sustainability. When assessing corporate emissions and impact, the EPA measures three different areas, or scopes. Scopes 1 and 2 focus on inputs – emissions from purchased power sources. But Scope 3 focuses on assets not owned or controlled by the purchasing organization, its entire product value chain i.e., outputs. For example, Kohler manufactures a line of water saving plumbing products called WaterSense, which have saved 292 billion gallons of water for customers since 2007. The data center industry may be well on its way to a similar pursuit of Scope 3 gains, measuring and efficientizing operational outputs as the next evolution in reducing industry environmental impact. This pursuit would lead to a new arms race, in the best kind of way, to use operational levers to reduce energy consumption and particulate emissions.
*Credit for the term belongs to industry expert and friend Joe Reele
Sean Farney, a data center geek with Hyperscale operating experience, is the Director of Data Center Marketing at Kohler Data Centers. Read Kohler’s latest white paper here.