The Business Case for Sustainability in Data Centers (OR-16-008)

Energy efficiency has become increasing important in the data center industry, driven by rising energy prices, environmental legislation, corporate social responsibility pressures and competition. Energy efficiency is part of sustainability, however consideration of other aspects such as the embodied environmental impact of materials, components and systems are needed for a holistic view of sustainability. Life cycle assessment areas of protection may be defined as climate change, ecosystem quality, human health and resource depletion. The industry is starting to become more aware of these issues and developing metrics to quantify performance. This paper describes key data center sustainability issues and proposes how the industry should approach its environmental responsibilities in order to capitalize on the business opportunity as well as demonstrating sustainable leadership.