By the end of October 2022, the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact had attracted over 100 signatories. One hundred and five organisations including data centre owners and operators as well as hyperscale cloud service providers and national associations. Together these organisations represent well over 90% of the data centre capacity offered across Europe. As such, it is a huge endorsement of the Pact and the industry’s commitment to collaborate to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.
Born less than two-years ago in co-operation with the European Commission to support both the European Green Deal and the European Data Strategy, the CNDCP remains a unique initiative by industry and government to drive substantive progress on sustainability by making EU data centres climate neutral by 2030.
81 Operators, 24 Associations
Initially, 25 companies and 17 associations came together to commit to a self-regulatory initiative in January 2021. They committed to ensure their data centres are climate neutral through ambitious measurable targets for 2025 and 2030. Since then, the number of signatories has grown rapidly and consistently. The fastest growth has been in data centre operators committing to the self-regulatory initiative with 81 operators now Pact signatories. Twenty-four associations make up the remainder. As a result, virtually every significant operator, and all the main associations, have pledged their support.
Defined Targets
At the same time, working groups have been formed to debate, define and agree stringent and precise targets, as well as detailed measures and auditable criteria in the five focus areas. Outlined at the launch of the CNDCP these remain to:
Auditable Progress
Next year, 2023, will see signatories auditing and reporting their progress against these goals. The data centre industry will therefore be among the first to use standardised approaches to prove that it is making real progress on defined sustainability goals in a consistent, transparent and fully auditable manner. Although our growth in terms of new signatories will slow in 2023 (because nearly everyone is already a signatory), it will be a pivotal year as operators provide data to show their progress towards the Pact’s targets. Pact signatories are leading the way in delivering real progress towards climate neutrality. We encourage everyone to follow our lead and to act on this critical issue.
Born less than two-years ago in co-operation with the European Commission to support both the European Green Deal and the European Data Strategy, the CNDCP remains a unique initiative by industry and government to drive substantive progress on sustainability by making EU data centres climate neutral by 2030.
81 Operators, 24 Associations
Initially, 25 companies and 17 associations came together to commit to a self-regulatory initiative in January 2021. They committed to ensure their data centres are climate neutral through ambitious measurable targets for 2025 and 2030. Since then, the number of signatories has grown rapidly and consistently. The fastest growth has been in data centre operators committing to the self-regulatory initiative with 81 operators now Pact signatories. Twenty-four associations make up the remainder. As a result, virtually every significant operator, and all the main associations, have pledged their support.
Defined Targets
At the same time, working groups have been formed to debate, define and agree stringent and precise targets, as well as detailed measures and auditable criteria in the five focus areas. Outlined at the launch of the CNDCP these remain to:
- Prove energy efficiency with measurable targets
- Purchase 100% carbon-free energy
- Prioritise water conservation
- Reuse and repair servers
- Look for ways to recycle heat
Auditable Progress
Next year, 2023, will see signatories auditing and reporting their progress against these goals. The data centre industry will therefore be among the first to use standardised approaches to prove that it is making real progress on defined sustainability goals in a consistent, transparent and fully auditable manner. Although our growth in terms of new signatories will slow in 2023 (because nearly everyone is already a signatory), it will be a pivotal year as operators provide data to show their progress towards the Pact’s targets. Pact signatories are leading the way in delivering real progress towards climate neutrality. We encourage everyone to follow our lead and to act on this critical issue.
