ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

UI INTELLIGENCE REPORT 82

Sustainability strategies
in colocation

Colocation is a fast-growing segment of the data center

industry. But assessing colocation providers’ sustainability
performance is challenging. This report investigates and
highlights sustainability innovations currently deployed by
retail colocation companies worldwide.

Authors
Max Smolaks, Research Analyst
Lenny Simon, Senior Research Associate
Douglas Donnellan, Research Associate

20-30 MINUTES TO READ

UII-82 v1.0P published 8 November 2022, last updated 8 November 2022 1

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Synopsis
Sustainability is a growing concern for data center operators, customers
and regulators. Demand for colocation data center services is increasing
quickly, but the market is highly fragmented and difficult to assess in terms
of environmental impacts.

This report analyzes how some colocation companies are improving

sustainability through innovative approaches to cooling infrastructure,
energy efficiency, renewable energy procurement, construction and more.

.
• Siting factors can make variable effectiveness in limiting
sustainability challenging; not all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
operators can use free air cooling, notwithstanding.
municipal waste-heat reusage, or
• Data centers with the lowest water
low-carbon electricity grids.
and energy consumption utilize
• Most operators anticipate free cooling, once through liquid
mandatory sustainability reporting cooling, direct liquid cooling (DLC)
mid-term: those with strategies in and / or in-row heat rejection to
place will best withstand regulatory remove heat from the IT space.
and consumer emissions-reduction
pressures.
• Renewable energy certificates
(RECs) and guarantees of origin
(GOs) are central to most providers’
renewable energy plans — their

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Contents Introduction ———————————————————————————————————— 4

The state of colocation sustainability ———————————————————————— 4
Sustainability trends ———————————————————————————————— 6
The sustainability toolkit—————————————————————————————— 7
Colocation operator case studies——————————————————————————11
Methodology ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11
Sustainability measures ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12
Challenges—————————————————————————————————————16
Conclusion and recommendations —————————————————————————17

Illustrations Figure 1 ———————————————— 4

Colo providers anticipate mandatory
Figure 4 ———————————————— 7
Colo customers prioritize energy-saving
sustainability reporting cooling and low PUE
Figure 2 ———————————————— 5 Table 1 ——————————————— 11
Only half of all colos report their CO2 Key sustainability features of colo
emissions and water use provider case studies
Figure 3 ———————————————— 6
Cooling and renewables have the
greatest sustainability impacts

Uptime Institute Intelligence is an independent unit of Uptime Institute dedicated to identifying,

analyzing and explaining the trends, technologies, operational practices and changing business
models of the mission-critical infrastructure industry. For more about Uptime Institute Intelligence, visit
uptimeinstitute.com/ui-intelligence or contact research@uptimeinstitute.com.

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Introduction
Colocation providers continue to see strong demand in line with increasing consumption
of digital services. While cloud and IT services providers are responsible for most capacity
uptake, a growing number of enterprises rely on colocation as a key part of their IT
infrastructure. According to the Uptime Institute Global Data Center Survey 2022, about
one in three businesses use colocation (either retail or wholesale) to augment their
footprint and network connectivity. Strong sustainability performance is becoming an
increasingly important consideration for colocation customers as providers seek to grow
their businesses in a competitive market.
This report considers a broad range of sustainability initiatives across colocation facilities,
including: innovative cooling systems; renewable energy procurement; water reduction
initiatives; Scope 3 GHG emissions tracking; the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO)
to replace diesel fuel; retrofitting of existing buildings; and the use of pre-fabrication for
construction. Green financing and pilot projects are outside the scope of this study.

The state of colocation sustainability

Customers, regulators, investors and the public at large are increasingly demanding greater
sustainability efforts from colocation providers, and expect that these improvements can
be verified. Colocation customers, in particular, have begun asking more of colocation
providers as they, in turn, seek to improve their own sustainability credentials.
Much of what is driving sustainability efforts in data centers is anticipatory. According
to the Uptime Institute Global Data Center Survey 2022, covering IT and data center
managers worldwide, most colocation operators expect reporting of sustainability metrics
to become mandatory in the next five years (see Figure 1). Some regulations, such as
the EU’s recast of the Energy Efficiency Directive, will require public reporting of energy
performance (see Critical regulation: the EU Energy Efficiency Directive recast).

Figure 1 Colo providers anticipate mandatory sustainability reporting

In the next five years, do you think that data centers in your region will be required to publicly report
on environmental sustainability metrics? (n=178)

YES
78%
NO
22%

Respondents: colocation owners / operators

UPTIME INSTITUTE GLOBAL SURVEY OF

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Concerns around data centers’ energy and water use have, already, challenged providers
in certain municipalities. Constraints on grid capacity, the availability of water for
cooling, and limitations of physical space have led to tighter restrictions and, in some
cases, to moratoriums on new data center development. Local authorities in Ireland,
parts of the US, Singapore and Amsterdam have set higher standards governing power
usage effectiveness (PUE), water use, and / or IT energy efficiency. New colocation
builds that incorporate best practices in energy efficiency, water consumption and
overall sustainability will have an advantage in securing the necessary permits and grid
connections in these locations.
Increasing regulation in the light of more frequent moratoriums on data center
development could catch some operators off guard. According to the Uptime Institute
Global Data Center Survey 2022, less than half of colocation operators track their water
use, carbon emissions or equipment life-cycle data (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 Only half of all colos report their CO2 emissions and water use
Which IT or data center metrics do you compile and report for corporate sustainability purposes?
Choose all that apply. (n=197)

PUE 89%

IT or data center
power consumption 85%

Water usage 52%

IT or data center
carbon emissions 49%

E-waste or
equipment life cycle 29%

Server utilization 27%

Respondents: colocation owners / operators

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Most colocation operators track established metrics such as power consumption and
PUE. Only a minority of colocation providers report on electronic waste disposal schemes
relating to their operations (a shared responsibility with their tenants).

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Sustainability trends
A financial case often drives the adoption of sustainability initiatives in colocation data
centers. For example, improving facilities’ energy efficiency directly lowers operating costs,
making facilities more attractive for tenants while reducing Scope 2 carbon emissions.
Highly efficient cooling designs deliver lower PUE — an advantage that can attract
customers, while also keeping costs down. Data from the Uptime Institute’s 2022 data
center survey shows improved cooling infrastructure, together with more options in
renewable-energy procurement, are perceived as key factors driving colocation data
center sustainability (see Figure 3).

Figure 3 Cooling and renewables have the greatest sustainability impacts

In your opinion, which of the following will have the biggest impact in making the data center
industry more environmentally sustainable in the next three to five years? Choose one. (n=207)

Improved data center cooling 22%

More renewable energy
purchasing options 21%

Heat reuse 14%

Stricter environmental regulatory
requirements for data centers 11%

Improved IT utilization 11%

Significant increase
in energy prices 7%

More efficient chip technology 6%

Greater use of public
cloud data centers 6%
Improved data center
management software 2%

Respondents: colocation owners / operators

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These colocation facilities most able to take advantage of free cooling opportunities (i.e.,
without the use of compressors) and abundant renewable energy — including Denmark,
Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden — performed best in terms of efficiency and
sustainability. But strong efficiency and sustainability credentials are not necessarily
limited to climatically favorable locations: some colocation facilities in other parts of the
world are delivering outstanding performance through innovative approaches to cooling.

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Cost savings from lower energy consumption mean colocation customers have a keen
interest in placing their workloads in efficient facilities. Colocation customers surveyed in
Uptime Institute’s 2021 Climate Change Survey said energy-saving cooling infrastructure
and a low PUE are among the most important factors in choosing colocation facilities.
Water-saving technologies were ranked third, above renewable energy and the ability to
use carbon offset programs offered by the colocation provider (see Figure 4).

Figure 4 Colo customers prioritize energy-saving cooling and low PUE

Thinking about colocation companies, how important is it that they are invested in and / or offer
each of the following? (n=229)
Energy-saving data center cooling technologies

82% 17% 1%

A low PUE (either industry average or lower)

67% 29% 4%

Water-saving data center technologies

64% 28% 8%

Renewable energy

54% 34% 13%

Participation in the colo’s carbon offset program, including RECs

38% 42% 20%

Very important Somewhat important Not important

Respondents: colocation owners / operators

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The sustainability toolkit

Uptime Intelligence has identified 13 measures directed at improving colos’
environmental sustainability performance currently being deployed by operators analyzed
in case studies for this report.
These initiatives are rarely unique, and successful measures are replicated across
competing organizations. Taken together, however, they can offer data center operators
a common sustainability toolkit which can be adapted in line with location, budget, and
other considerations.

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These sustainability initiatives are outlined below, together with a summary of the benefits
and challenges in each case.

Blanking panels. Some colocation providers incentivize tenants to use blanking panels
(flat panels placed over empty server racks), providing these free of charge or mandating
their use in service agreements. These panels can improve cooling efficiency for a modest
investment by delivering better airflow management for hot / cold aisle containment.

Modernization of legacy cooling infrastructure. Cooling is the second largest consumer of

data center power after IT. Modernizing legacy cooling infrastructure is, therefore, one of
the best opportunities for improving energy efficiency.
Mechanical chillers with cooling towers are common components of traditional data
center design: any cooling system claiming sustainability benefits must consume less
energy or water. A system incorporating free cooling delivers significant water and energy
savings by comparison, but using outside air for cooling is not always viable.
Several operators note a tradeoff in data center design, where reduced water
consumption leads to higher energy consumption, and vice versa. For example, indirect
adiabatic cooling can help lower the power consumption of cooling equipment in warm,
dry climates, albeit at the cost of increased water consumption.

Support for DLC. Support for DLC of IT hardware is spreading among colocation providers
for a variety of reasons, chiefly the ability to accommodate densified high-performance
server clusters. DLC also has the potential to reduce power consumption and eliminate
water use while reducing PUE. Support for direct-to-chip cold plates is more common
among colocation providers — immersion tanks necessitate specialized equipment and
data-hall configuration.
DLC adoption remains limited due to the current lack of standardization across systems,
challenges in retrofitting existing facilities, concerns regarding material compatibility, and
insufficient collaboration between IT and facilities teams. Overcoming these challenges
will be necessary if DLC is to become viable as a standard option.

Waste heat reuse. The option to reuse data center waste heat is typically limited to colder
climates and may require connections to district heating systems or manufacturing sites.
The availability of such connections and / or facilities is heavily concentrated in Northern
Europe. Configuring a facility for waste heat reuse often increases energy use (since heat
pumps are needed to increase outgoing heat temperature) but can lower overall carbon
emissions by reducing energy that would otherwise be needed for heating.

Heat rejection into water systems (once-through cooling). Using a large body of water
(such as a river or lake) for data center cooling provides large benefits in energy efficiency.
Typically requiring pumps and a heat exchanger, water is piped in from an available water
source, interfacing with the IT cooling system to reject heat into the environment. Once-
through cooling has been deployed in other energy-intensive industries but is rarely used
in data center design. Operators have shown these systems to be effective and efficient,
but implementation requires a fully customized facility.

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Water conservation. Significant demand for water presents challenges for data centers
located in regions subject to water scarcity or drought. To minimize their impact on the
environment, colocation providers are adopting a variety of water conservation and recycling
measures, including the deployment of “waterless” cooling systems, sourcing of non-
potable water (including rainwater), and participation in water replenishment programs.

Emissions reporting to customers. Colocation providers typically provide energy usage

data to customers, and extrapolating GHG emissions from this data is a logical next
step for operators as more customers seek to quantify their emissions. Providers that
offer emissions reporting usually do so on a per-request, monthly basis; more advanced
reporting programs allow customers to pull emissions data in real-time.

Renewable energy sourcing. Using renewable energy to power data centers is dependent
on the local grid mix and the availability of renewable-generation assets. The availability of
retail contracts for direct consumption of renewable energy is driven by proximity to such
renewable-generation assets, and is subject to energy having not already been guaranteed
to another buyer.
Due to the limitations of procuring enough firm renewable energy (i.e., renewable energy
that is always available, and which can be continuously produced at full capacity, round
the clock) to fully power their facilities, many colocation providers match some of their
brown power (fossil fuel) consumption with unbundled RECs and / or GOs, or enter into
virtual power purchase agreements (vPPAs). These instruments allow businesses to claim
a higher percentage of renewable energy and offset emissions. Despite the appeal of
these instruments, they do not reduce emissions directly consumed by operations.
Ideally, the funds used to purchase such instruments should be invested in new renewable
energy generation projects — but that is not always the case. Uptime’s position is that 24/7
matching PPAs present the best opportunity for funding local renewable projects directly.

Sustainable alternatives to diesel. An alternative to diesel, made from renewable materials,

has found support among a small number of data center operators. HVO is a second-
generation biofuel that can be manufactured from waste food stocks, raw plant oils, used
cooking oils or animal fats, and is either undiluted or blended with petroleum diesel.
This novel fuel reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 90%, particulate matter by 10%
to 30%, and nitrogen oxides by 6% to 15% compared with petroleum diesel. HVO can be
stored in existing tanks and used by existing generator sets.
The drawbacks of HVO include its higher price and limited availability, as well as the minimal
impacts on emissions when a facility’s generators are only used for testing purposes.

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Fuel cells. Fuel cells generate electricity through a chemical process that eliminates the
carbon emissions associated with combustion — the only byproducts being clean water
and heat. Fuel cells deployed by colocation providers currently rely on natural gas rather
than renewable (green) hydrogen.
Current-generation fuel cells operate at full output when in use and are best suited for
providing part of the power required by a data center. Once green hydrogen is available
and commercially viable, fuel cells will be a renewable-power option, making them more
attractive as a means for on-site electricity generation.

Electronic waste disposal. Incorrect disposal of IT equipment can affect plants, animals,
and even human health — particularly in those developing countries to which e-waste
is often shipped. Data centers seeking to improve their sustainability credentials should
have policies in place for repurposing or recycling older hardware, allowing materials to
be recovered for remanufacturing, and diverting e-waste from landfill sites. Colocations
implementing decommissioning programs should provide their customers with
information and assistance on e-waste disposal.

Sustainable design and construction. Sustainable design and construction strategies

in colocation aim to reduce the Scope 3 emissions associated with land clearing, the
manufacturing of building materials, transportation of these materials to build sites, and
the energy used to construct facilities.
This report highlights the following approaches for the sustainable design and
construction of colocation facilities:
• Retrofitting existing buildings into data centers (eliminating the need for clearing
land, reducing building materials, and cutting the associated emissions from
transporting these).
• Using low-carbon construction materials such as wood or low-carbon concrete (which
sequesters carbon through the addition of aggregate materials into the concrete mix).
• Using prefabricated modular construction (involving the offsite manufacture of building
components, with subsequent assembly onsite): this can reduce waste and cut the
energy consumption involved in equipment transportation and operation.

Scope 3 tracking and reporting. Scope 3 emissions cover a wide range of pollution
categories, including construction, embedded emissions from the manufacturing of
equipment and IT-related hardware, e-waste and employee commuting, among others.
Scope 3 emissions account for approximately 50% of the GHG emissions associated
with data center operations, and some colocation operators have begun tracking these.
Insufficient standardization across suppliers, however, together with diverse accounting
approaches, mean Scope 3 emissions tracking is often challenging. Current GHG
Corporate Protocols do not stipulate the reporting of Scope 3 emissions.

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Colocation operator case studies

The case studies in Table 1 summarize the various sustainability measures adopted by
colocation providers covered in this report. For a fuller explanation of each colocation
provider’s sustainability measures see Sustainability measures.

Methodology
• This analysis is intended to outline strategies currently deployed by colocation data
centers in improving the sustainability of their operations. Information has been
sourced through interviews with operator staff and sustainability specialists and
supplemented with data sourced from publicly available sustainability reports.
• Interviews took place online and in person between October 2021 and September 2022.
The data collected focusses on environmental initiatives rather than the social and
governance pillars of ESG strategies and includes quantitative data where available.
• The 14 company case studies included in this report were selected to provide a diverse
set of approaches to improving sustainability across different capacities, scales and
geographies. This report does not offer a comprehensive list of innovations being used
in colocation data centers, nor does it provide a ranked list of the best-performing data
centers in terms of sustainability.

Table 1 Key sustainability features of colo provider case studies

Over 50%
Renewable renewable Low / zero Legacy data Supply chain Scope 3 PUE of
energy energy at water center cooling decarbonization carbon 1.3 or
Company purchases the meter consumption optimization efforts tracking below

Aligned Datacenters œ œ œ œ
Compass Datacenters œ œ œ
CoreSite œ œ œ œ
EcoDataCenter œ œ œ œ
Equinix œ œ
Green Mountain œ œ œ œ œ œ
Interxion (Digital Realty) œ œ œ
KAO Data œ œ œ
Nautilus Stockton œ œ œ œ
QTS œ œ œ œ œ
Sabey Data Centers œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
ScaleMatrix œ œ œ œ
TI Sparkle œ
Verne Global œ œ œ œ œ

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Sustainability measures
Aligned Data Centers
HQ Plano, Texas (US)
No. of data centers Eight facilities
Installed capacity (MW) 1,000+ (incl. facilities
under management and
future development)
PUE 1.3 average annualized
across portfolio
Revenue $27M (2021)
International locations Present in one country (US)
Renewable energy At-the-meter percentage
strategy: unavailable. 100% IT load-
matched with renewables
becoming trapped in the concrete. The CO2 emissions
reductions from using CarbonCure cement are in the
order of 1,800 tons per data center campus.
Two of the company’s sites (in Northern Virginia and
Dallas) have switched from petroleum diesel to HVO:
one issue the company has had to address here being
the availability of HVO, and the lack of companies
available to deliver under contract.
Prefabricating new facilities reduces emissions from
construction by reducing build time, transportation
requirements, and the number of workers on site. Using
prefabrication, Compass Datacenters can quickly set up
a facility roof in 30 days.

Aligned Data Centers’ Delta³ cooling technology is CoreSite

central to its sustainability strategy. Rather than cooling
IT, this approach captures heat using a closed-loop
water glycol system. The Delta³ arrays consist of
four-foot (1.22 meter) cubes, stacked three at a time
within the data hall, each delivering 147 kW of heat
rejection. This technology allows for a dense 1 MW data
hall design of 2,000 square feet (186 square meters),
containing 20 cabinets. The fan power used by these
units reaches 1% of the IT load and absorbs Delta-Ts up
to 45 F. This approach to cooling efficiency contributes
to an average annualized PUE of 1.3 across all Aligned
Data Centers’ facilities. The Delta³ system, moreover,
ensures the water-free operation of its three newest
facilities.
Aligned Data Centers’ sustainability strategy also
prioritizes the tracking and reduction of its carbon
emissions, using the OriginMark material traceability
system. QR codes on IT hardware are scanned for their
carbon lifecycle data as opportunities for recyclability or
recovery are investigated. In order to make its circular
asset management system more comprehensive, the
company adds sourcing information to its hardware: this
can include information on the sourcing of raw materials
used in production, and the transportation distances
involved. Gathering this information allows the company
to make business decisions throughout its supply chain
based on the Scope 3 emissions associated with the IT
hardware it purchases.
Compass Datacenters
HQ Dallas, Texas (US)
No. of data centers 11 facilities
Installed capacity (MW) 380+
PUE >1.5 average, annualized
across portfolio
Revenue N/A
International locations Two (US and Canada)
Renewable energy N/A
strategy:
Compass Datacenters uses low-carbon concrete, HVO
and prefabrication. Low-carbon concrete is used at
all new data centers, procured through CarbonCure,
a sustainable-concrete production company that
has worked closely with Compass Datacenters on
meeting the company’s specifications. CarbonCure’s
manufacturing process involves the injection of CO2,
which then bonds with other elements, effectively
HQ Denver, Colorado (US)
No. of data centers 27 facilities
Installed capacity (MW) 220+
PUE 1.3 average annualized
across portfolio
Revenue N/A
International locations One
Renewable energy Exact figures not
strategy: available, mix of RECs
and retail contracts for
renewable energy
CoreSite, founded in 2001, operates a mix of modern
and legacy data center facilities across 10 US
markets. The company is updating its legacy sites with
new cooling designs — installing new chiller plants
with magnetic bearing compressors and plate heat
exchangers at its BO1 facility in Boston, for example,
which it claims will help save an estimated
8 million kWh every year.
CoreSite reports three recent airflow optimization
projects that have lowered the energy consumption of
its data center cooling equipment: these have involved
adjusting floor tile placements in line with IT density.
CoreSite’s VA3 facility in Reston, Virginia offers
customers the option of purchasing 100% renewable
energy from local solar, hydroelectric, and biomass
sources. The company’s SV2 facility in Milpitas,
California is powered by a combination of fuel cells
running on natural gas (1.15 MW) and locally sourced
renewable energy. CoreSite has another 3.6 MW
fuel-cell deployment at its BO1 facility in Boston,
Massachusetts.
CoreSite used 42 million gallons of recycled water at its
Santa Clara, California data center (SV7) as part of its
attempts to reduce water consumption in 2021, and has
plans to increase recycled water use at other facilities.
CoreSite recycled 50% of all waste (by volume) in 2021,
and 32% of all waste (by weight), while reducing related
truck traffic and costs by 18%.
CoreSite publishes a breakdown of its Scope 1 and
2 emissions. While its Scope 1 and 2 emissions have
increased over the past five years, the carbon intensity
of its operations (per $1 million dollars of revenue)
has decreased over the past three years. This metric
is useful for tracking sustainability improvements at

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businesses that are growing rapidly, and thus increasing diverse and depend on each site’s geography — the
their overall carbon footprint. However, it is only company’s cooling strategies, for example, vary
applicable to publicly traded companies required to between facilities and are designed to optimize
report their annual revenue figures. efficiency in line with local climatic conditions. Site-
specific approaches include indirect evaporative
CoreSite has developed a report which helps customers
cooling, the Toronto Deep Lake Water Cooling system,
understand their own carbon footprint at its facilities
and free air cooling.
(available on request).
Four sites in Germany use aquifer thermal energy
The company achieved PUE of 1.39 across its portfolio
storage (ATES) systems for heat rejection, with heat
in 2021 – an improvement on PUE of 1.42 reported in
being transferred into groundwater. In comparison
2020.
to traditional cooling towers, ATES can reduce
water consumption by up to 75%. Concurrently
EcoDataCenter with these approaches to siting and cooling design,
HQ Stockholm, Sweden Equinix is implementing sustainability improvements
No. of data centers Five facilities by accumulating multiple, small, efficiency gains
across each of its facilities — through initiatives
Installed capacity (MW) 80+ such as offering free blanking panels to customers,
PUE 1.15 average annualized and adjustments to supply air in line with specific
across portfolio requirements. The company’s portfolio-wide PUE was
Revenue N/A reduced from 1.54 in 2019 to 1.48 in 2021 — despite a
International locations One number of facilities still operating legacy equipment.
Renewable energy Powered by 100% Part of Equinix’s sustainability strategy includes reducing
strategy: renewable energy through Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% (without offsets) by
a grid-based electricity 2030. The company is working towards achieving this
mix generated from objective by operating more efficiently, and by increasing
hydropower and wind the quantity of clean or zero-emissions energy consumed
at its data centers. As of 2021 total Scope 1 and 2
The five facilities across EcoDataCenter’s portfolio emissions across the Equinix portfolio were reduced by
are spread across three locations in Sweden. These 12% against a 2019 baseline, despite a 25% increase in
facilities consume 100% renewable energy at the total electricity consumption. The company also procured
meter through an overall grid mix that is 75% hydro- 37% of its energy across all Equinix facilities from
powered and 25% wind-powered. The company’s city renewable energy sources in 2021.
sites in Stockholm make use of rooftop solar panels for
on-site generation, covering up to 4% of each facility’s Green Mountain
energy needs.
HQ Tel Aviv, Israel
The company’s carbon emissions primarily arise
No. of data centers Three facilities
from supply chains (Scope 3) and monthly diesel
generator tests. These are detailed in monthly reports Installed capacity (MW) 42
made available to customers. EcoDataCenter’s main PUE 1.2 average annualized
site, located in Falun, Sweden, is sited alongside across portfolio
a cogeneration plant that makes fuel pellets from Revenue N/A
forestry byproducts. The data center’s heat is reused in
International locations One (Norway)
manufacturing these pellets (themselves a renewable
source of energy) at this plant during the summer Renewable energy 100% renewable
months. The waste heat is used to warm homes in the strategy: hydroelectric from the grid
area during the winter months. The company uses
avoided emissions from heat generation in calculating its Green Mountain’s DC1-Stavanger data center relies on
“climate positive” footprint. an adjacent deep-water fjord for heat rejection into the
environment via once-through cooling. The data center is
The facility in Falun also uses wood construction, provisioned for up to 25 MW. In-row cooling with a closed
further reducing embedded carbon emissions in water loop can cool racks of up to 40 kW.
comparison to concrete.
The data center is located inside an abandoned NATO
Equinix ammunition storage facility, where it has been operating
since 2013. Using no mechanical chillers or mechanical
HQ Redwood City, California (US) compressors, the IT is cooled by cold water (sourced
No. of data centers 240+ facilities at a depth of 100 meters) fed through a titanium heat
Installed capacity (MW) 1,300+ exchanger.
PUE 1.48 average annualized The DC1-Stavanger facility achieves nearly 100%
across portfolio carbon-free cooling (3 kW of energy for 1000 kW of
Revenue $6.64B (2021) cooling), with the pump energy being supplied by 100%
hydroelectric power.
International locations 27
Renewable energy 37% supplier green
strategy: power, 45% RECs, 13%
vPPAs, 5% brown power

With a portfolio of this size, best practices in

sustainability are challenging to standardize. Innovative
approaches for reducing carbon footprints are therefore

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Interxion (Digital Realty)
HQ Austin, Texas (US)
No. of data centers 290+ facilities
Installed capacity (MW) 1,300+
PUE N/A
Revenue $4.4B
International locations 25+
Renewable energy 64% renewable energy
strategy: globally
Interxion reduced its Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG
emissions by 42% against 2018 baseline levels in 2021.
This reduction in emissions is in large part due to high
levels of renewable energy, totaling 64% across the
portfolio. Interxion also reduced Scope 3 emissions
by 11% against 2018, mainly through proactive
engagement with suppliers.
An important component of Interxion’s sustainability
strategy involves certifying facilities under Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Building
Research Establishment Environmental Assessment
Method (BREEAM) and other internationally recognized
sustainable building standards. All new major facilities
and renovations are required to meet or exceed
requirements for LEED silver certification. More than
50% of the company’s portfolio (by floorspace) has
been awarded sustainable-building certificates.
Interxion has deployed a $15 million once-through
water heat-rejection system to cool 22 MW at its MRS2
and MRS3 data centers in Marseille, France. Water at
both facilities is pumped from an abandoned coal mine
into the data centers, where it enters heat exchangers
which absorb heat through a closed-loop system,
transferring heat from the servers. This heat is then
rejected into the abandoned mine drainage system,
greatly reducing energy consumption in comparison to
traditional cooling systems. Chillers are used for cooling
redundancy.
Interxion’s facilities in Marseille also reuse the heat
generated from their servers to support the local district
heating network. In Amsterdam, the company has signed
an agreement with the local district heating system
operator to export waste heat from up to six data centers.
Kao Data
HQ Harlow, UK
No. of data centers Three facilities
Installed capacity (MW) 55 (including future
development)
PUE 1.2 average annualized
across portfolio
Revenue N/A
International locations One
Renewable energy 100% renewable energy
strategy: through a mix of GOs and
retail power contracts
Kao Data is the first data center operator in Europe
to use HVO for all diesel-powered backup generators
across the company portfolio. Energy consumption not
sourced from geothermal, wind or hydro is matched
through a GO that contributes to a wind farm’s power
generation. This allows customers to claim 100%
renewable energy use for their IT operations. Energy use
is tracked at the rack level and is reported to customers
alongside PUE, which is measured every 15 minutes.
A PUE of under 1.2 is guaranteed for the duration of
service contracts for workloads that have a server
utilization rate above 25%. If the PUE exceeds 1.2, the
difference in power costs is reimbursed to the customer.
This commitment to keeping PUE levels below 1.2 is
supported by the company’s cooling approach. Kao
Data’s flagship Harlow facility is the first in the UK to
deploy 100% free cooling in a multi-tenant data center,
using a series of heat exchangers to remove hot air
from IT without any external air entering the building.
To accommodate high-performance computing,
Kao Data’s facilities have been designed to support
direct-to-chip liquid cooling without any modification
of existing infrastructure. These strategies, combined
with the company optimizing air-flow management and
offering blanking panels to customers, support Kao
Data’s guarantee of sub-1.2 PUE.
Nautilus Data Technologies
HQ Stockton, California
No. of data centers Two facilities
Installed capacity (MW) 7+
PUE 1.15 maximum
Revenue N/A
International locations One
Renewable energy N/A
strategy:
Operating on a barge in the San Joaquin River,
California, Nautilus cools its 7 MW Stockton 1 Data
Center by rejecting heat into the river. The facility
uses rear-door heat exchangers to carry IT heat into a
closed water loop. Cold water is drawn from the river
by 20 kW pumps on the barge’s hull (cooling up to
650 kW of IT capacity per pump) and feeds into the
open loop where it absorbs the heat from the closed
water loop. The high efficiency of its innovative cooling
design means Nautilus’ Stockton 1 Data Center can
support high-density applications of up to 55 kW. The
facility uses no chillers or mechanical compressors.
Relying exclusively on pumps, the Stockton 1 facility
uses 30% less energy than an average data center. The
company has measures in place to ensure microbial
life and debris do not interfere with the cooling system
— an ultrasonic system introduces vibrations into the
heat-rejection plumbing inhibiting the attachment
and growth of any microbial life passing through the
strainers. These ultrasonic vibrations do not interfere
with the marine ecosystem.
QTS Data Centers
HQ Overland Park, Kansas (US)
No. of data centers 25 facilities
Installed capacity (MW) 330+
PUE <1.3 average annualized
across portfolio
Revenue $560M (2021)
International locations Two (US and the
Netherlands)
Renewable energy Exact figures not
strategy: available, mix of RECs
and retail contracts for
renewable energy
QTS’ strategy has involved the purchase of four
buildings (including decommissioned semiconductor

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ScaleMatrix
factories and a printing facility) subsequently
redeveloped into data centers. On that basis, HQ San Diego, California
the company claims it has been able to reuse No. of data centers Five facilities
approximately 1.3 billion pounds (0.59 billion kg) Installed capacity (MW) 75
of building materials — avoiding 663,000 MWh in
PUE <1.1 average annualized
electricity consumption and associated emissions,
and more than 550,000 gallons (2.1 million liters) across portfolio
of diesel that would otherwise have been required in Revenue N/A
building a new facility. While redeveloping an existing International locations One
facility is typically more expensive (per MW of IT) Renewable energy N/A
than building new, the cost can be offset by lower real strategy:
estate acquisition costs.
QTS recently committed to improving its annualized ScaleMatrix uses a proprietary cooling system that
average water use efficiency (WUE) by 5% every year. runs a chilled water loop to a coil inside customers’
QTS’ “Freedom” cooling design relies on efficient fully enclosed cabinets. One fan draws cool air from
dry cooling systems and air economization to reduce the heat exchanger, while another pulls the hot air from
or eliminate water use: sensors monitor the rack the servers. ScaleMatrix’s system results in energy
temperature to deliver cool air only when it is required, savings of 30% compared to traditional facilities, and
increasing cooling efficiency. Building in 1.5 kW can cool up to 85 kW per rack. Most of ScaleMatrix’s
modular sections, the company pairs IT capacity with facilities use closed-loop chillers, resulting in marginal
the requisite cooling needed, thus reducing excess water use. With one enclosure design (which can be
cooling capacity, saving energy, and cutting costs. purchased and installed separately) delivering an air
delta temperature of up to 49 F, heat can be reclaimed
QTS’ client dashboard also allows customers
for other purposes.
to monitor and report PUE, WUE, proportional
renewable energy usage, IT carbon footprints and ScaleMatrix’s proprietary cooling system is managed
water usage data. dynamically in real time, with the speed at which water
passes through the coil and the speed at which air
Sabey Data Centers passes over the IT both being automatically controlled
in line with parameters set by customers. Constant
HQ Seattle, Washington US
monitoring results in a cooling architecture that can
No. of data centers Six facilities quickly adapt to the changing temperatures within the
Installed capacity (MW) 270+ IT cabinet.
PUE 1.3 (estimated) average
annualized across portfolio TI Sparkle
Revenue $204M (approximate, 2021) HQ Athens, Greece
International locations One No. of data centers Four facilities
Installed capacity (MW) 14
Renewable energy >50% overall, achieved
strategy: through siting in line with PUE N/A
renewable hydropower in Revenue N/A
the Pacific Northwest, and International locations Three
through renewable grid Renewable energy GOs
mixes elsewhere strategy:

Improving energy efficiency with a focus on cooling is
central to Sabey Data Centers’ sustainability strategy.
Slab floor construction with hot aisle containment has
been standard across all facilities since 2008. Those
of the company’s sites that combine this design with
indirect evaporative cooling reach average annualized
PUEs of 1.15: other sites utilize high-efficiency air
cooled chillers to achieve waterless operations.
The tradeoff from increasing energy use while
eliminating operational water consumption at the
company’s air-cooled facilities brings its portfolio-
wide annualized PUE to roughly 1.3. These designs
are also optimized for the future adoption of DLC,
facilitating some heat reuse within the data center
buildings. Other efficiency gains have been achieved
by mandating the use of blanking panels by customers.
Most of the company’s installed MW capacity is in
the state of Washington — partly due to the high
availability of renewable energy from hydropower.
Sabey Data Centers’ facilities in Ashburn, Virginia, and
Manhattan, New York, benefit from some renewable
energy within the grid, while nuclear energy further
supports emissions reduction efforts.
TI Sparkle’s Metamorfosis II data center uses a heat
exchanger (which rejects heat into an underground
aquifer during summer and absorbs heat during the
winter) to manage the temperature of its office space.
The aquifer maintains a temperature between 64 F
and 72 F (18 C and 22 C) all year round, helping to
reduce the site’s energy consumption.
TI Sparkle has deployed Vigilant cooling optimization
software at one section of its legacy facilities,
improving energy efficiency by 20% to 25%. This
software uses artificial intelligence to monitor and
control the environmental conditions (including
temperature and humidity) in the white space, and at
the computer room air conditioning (CRAC) units, the
chillers, and the cold-water loop flow — all of which
helps further reduce energy consumption.
One of TI Sparkle’s sites has a green roof that uses
collected rainwater.

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Verne Global
HQ London, UK 100% renewable energy for all of its IT operations. This
energy is also inexpensive, creating energy cost savings
No. of data centers Six facilities
of up to 80% for some customers.
Installed capacity (MW) 87+
Iceland’s climate allows the facility to offer free air
PUE N/A
cooling for up to 50 kW cabinets. The facility provides
Revenue $37.8M (2021) DLC for cabinets supporting high performance
International locations Three computing and AI at and above 100 kW densities. The
Renewable energy Powered by 100% extensive use of free cooling and DLC contribute to the
strategy: renewable energy through data center’s average annualized PUE of 1.15.
a grid-based electricity The company’s sustainability strategy makes use of
mix generated from modular, prefab construction to reduce embodied-
hydropower, geothermal carbon footprints: one 8 MW add-on, for example,
and wind was factory-built and tested before being shipped and
installed onsite — reducing embodied carbon from
The main Verne Global facility is sited in Reykjanesbaer, wasted construction materials while also improving lead
Iceland, allowing it to exploit the country’s strong times. Verne Global’s operations in 2021 generated
renewable energy profile. Access to geothermal, roughly the same carbon emissions footprint from
hydroelectric and wind power allows the facility to use energy use as just 70 homes.

Challenges
Colocation providers face several challenges in improving their sustainability performance.
They typically lack control over the servers — which account for the greatest proportion
of data center energy consumption — housed in their facilities. Without the ability to
consolidate workloads and increase utilization rates, or to deploy power management
software, colocation providers are forced to focus on reducing the environmental impact
of facility operations. As a result, design choices have a disproportionate impact on the
sustainability performance of colocation data centers. Older sites, in particular, face
challenges in improving energy efficiency. These legacy sites have outdated cooling
infrastructure (by today’s standards) and high PUEs, compared to newer sites. Retrofitting
an existing site is costly, time-consuming, and may take the facility offline — an approach
that is rarely viable before the power or cooling equipment reaches its end of life.
Operators of facilities located in grid regions with high carbon intensity are forced to pay a
premium to either procure renewable energy directly or purchase RECs or GOs to reduce
the GHG emissions associated with energy use.
Where these are offered as power purchase agreements (PPAs) operators also risk the
possibility that energy prices could fall below the prices determined under such contracts,
resulting in additional costs for operators.
Siting can also limit facilities’ options for sustainable cooling. Data centers located in
Northern Europe, or the Pacific Northwest in the US, for example, will have greater
opportunities for waterless cooling designs or for free air cooling than those sited in
warmer climates.
Another challenge for colocation providers lies in tracking Scope 3 emissions. These
emissions primarily arise from the manufacture of IT components and construction
materials. Although some companies now track Scope 3 emissions, and some equipment
vendors assign Scope 3 emissions to their products, there is no standardized accounting
protocol for Scope 3 — making it difficult to compare progress across the industry.

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Conclusion and recommendations

Sustainability projects and attributes in colocation must make business sense — either
by reducing costs, or by increasing revenue through winning additional business and / or
attracting investors, while ensuring reliability and resiliency standards are maintained. An
uneconomical data center is not a viable data center: innovative approaches that deliver
better environmental perfo rmance can improve economic viability.
Carbon accounting for colocation tenants’ IT equipment and operations remains less
than transparent. Enterprises using colocation should count the IT energy consumed
and the embedded carbon of their IT as Scope 2. Colocation operators should consider
these emissions as part of their Scope 3 inventory. Colocation operators should establish
processes by which their IT tenants can reduce their operating footprints through greater
IT efficiency.
Scope 3 accounting must be handled with caution. Reducing embedded carbon in building
materials and equipment is best achieved by working with partners focused on reducing the
carbon footprint of their materials and equipment. This may require paying a premium.
In light of these factors, sustainable colocation data centers should involve some (or all) of
the following features:
• The use of cooling technologies that minimize both energy and water consumption. The
most viable systems here include direct air cooling, free cooling with water-side or air-
side economizers, once-through cooling, DLC, and in-row (rear-door) heat exchangers,
with free cooling or liquid cooling at or within the racks being the most efficient cooling
methods.
• Maximization of the percentage of clean, low-carbon energy consumed directly by
the data center. This involves either locating the facility where there is significant low-
carbon energy, or working with energy producers to procure renewable energy that will
be consumed directly.
• Engagement with equipment providers to source products with low emissions, even
where this involves a cost premium.
• The deployment of heat reuse — e.g., using waste heat for a local district heating
system or for local facilities (greenhouse and office complexes, schools, etc.).
• Engagement with tenants regarding IT efficiency and sustainability commitments as
part of service level agreements. This may be the single most important attribute of a
sustainable colocation data center, and one which continues to be ignored.

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About the authors

Max Smolaks
Max Smolaks is a Research Analyst at Uptime Institute. His expertise spans
digital infrastructure management software, power and cooling equipment,
and regulations and standards. He has 10 years’ experience as a technology
journalist, reporting on innovation in IT and data center infrastructure.
msmolaks@uptimeinstitute.com

Lenny Simon
Lenny Simon is a Senior Research Associate at Uptime Institute
covering global trends, sustainability and technologies in critical digital
infrastructure. Before joining Uptime, he was an analyst at GreenMax
Capital Advisors and worked in the Office of the Mayor of New York City.
lbrandes-simon@uptimeinstitute.com

Douglas Donnellan
Douglas Donnellan is a Research Associate at Uptime Institute covering
sustainability in data centers. His background includes environmental
research and communications, with a strong focus on education.
ddonnellan@uptimeinstitute.com

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