Signatories of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact met 21st June with the European Commission to present and assess the first policy paper setting forth the regulatory and policy recommendations needed to build a green cloud and data centre industry for Europe. The Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact is a major self-regulatory initiative launched to ensure that the cloud and data centre industry in Europe supports the continent’s goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050.
The current signatories of the pact represent 90% of the industry in Europe and most of its key players. Since March 2021, eighteen more data centre operators have signed the pact (Advanced Mediomatrix, Ark Data Centres, Basefarm, Blix Solutions, BrainServe, Bulk infrastructure, Datacenter One, EcoDataCenter, EBRC, EMC HostCo, EWL, IBM, Intel, Kao Data, Noris network, ScaleUp, Switch Datacenters, T-Systems), as have three industry associations (Bitkom, Data Centre United, FCDF). These new signatories join the 36 companies and 19 associations from across Europe already committed to ensuring the design and operation of data centres across Europe meet ambitious sustainability criteria, since the Pact launched at the beginning of this year.
he policy paper, developed at the request of the European Commission, includes a comprehensive set of 19 recommendations. These cover public procurement regulations, from the procurement and development of renewable energies that can be used by the cloud and data centre industry, to supporting the development of circular water and energy management, and recycling in the ICT sector.
Michael Winterson, Chairman of EUDCA (European Data Centre Association): “The Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact is pleased to welcome new operators and trade associations in this joint engagement to making the cloud and data centre industry climate-neutral by 2030. The policy paper presented today is yet another milestone that will help us deliver our goals and commitments, making Europe the global leader in the green and digital economy.”
Signatories of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact have agreed to implement measurable energy efficiency targets, purchase 100% carbon-free energy, prioritise water conservation, reuse and repair servers, and look for ways to recycle heat. The recommendations set forth in this first policy paper highlight how the regulatory and political framework for the ICT industry in Europe should be adapted to facilitate the realisation of these objectives.
For more details on the new Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact visit the dedicated website.
