Hi ,

The race to net zero carbon emissions is on – our economy and our world depend on it. The data center industry, one that tends to gobble up lots of power is at the forefront of a number of initiatives being implemented around the world. How will you prepare your data center for net zero carbon emissions? Here’s 4 steps that will get you started.

Data centers first became the focus of Greenpeace and other groups back in the mid-to-early 2010 boom. The focus at that time was on enterprise-level data centers – the big guys, in other words. The fact that data centers used lots of power became evident and so the move toward minimizing that impact grew in both urgency and popularity.

So much so that the position of Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) grew to overtake the emerging position of Chief Security Officers. Those in charge of cybersecurity ended up having to change their title to CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) because CSO had already been widely recognized.

Since then, smaller edge computing data centers have become the new focus. With COVID hastening the transition, today, cloud computing, AI, remote monitoring and other data center management trends have now established a level of control and sustainability not previously thought possible.

Thanks in part to these technological developments, net zero carbon emissions now feels more achievable and less like the plot-line in a futuristic sci-fi flick. So, in what areas of the data center can emissions be reduced?

There are several individual measures that promote sustainability. The key is to take all of those individual components and standards and work them into an ecosystem that supports your emissions goal.

Companies and countries alike are making a commitment to reducing carbon emissions as a part of their brand. However, words are not enough, and these companies - including the largest hyperscaling data center companies in the world - are taking action. Advances are happening quickly in the area of artificial intelligence (AI), remote management and data center design. Being on the leading edge of these developments shows that your data center is part of this commitment to a “greener cloud infrastructure.”

Like most strategies, it's only once a firm commitment at the top of the organization has been made that the necessary actions can be taken, including providing leaders with the authority to make decisions that align with the goal and that resources, responsibilities and accountabilities are allocated.