The Norwegian data center colocation provider, Green Mountain, releases its very first sustainability report. The company is already well-known for its sustainability commitments in the industry and has won several awards for its sustainability work. This is the first time a comprehensive report outlining focus areas, status and plans is published.
The report covers seven focus areas within ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance): Energy, GHG emissions, Waste, Water, Biodiversity, Social responsibility, and Governance. Each focus area has a defined overall objective supplemented by several targets. In the report Green Mountain outlines the progress towards these targets as well as next steps.
In brief, Green Mountain delivers top scores on the most significant sustainability parameters of a data center:
- All data centers operating on 100% renewable power
- World-class energy-efficiency with PUE below 1.2 (Global industry average is 1.59*)
- Scope 1 & 2 carbon footprint of 3,24 grams CO₂e/kWh (Significantly lower than industry average)
- Pilot projects on heat-reuse
The results are industry leading, but the company has identified several areas where they can take action to drive closer to net zero. These areas include a stronger focus on preventing leakage of F-gases and becoming independent of fossil fuels for emergency power.
Torkild Follaug, Sustainability manager in Green Mountain comments:
– Our own emissions are very low, but it is still a challenge to bring them down to zero. We will continue to work systematically to reach our goals and be transparent towards our stakeholders on our progress.
Tor Kristian Gyland, CEO of Green Mountain, is proud of the work his team has done to systemize plans and efforts and produce this report:
– For many years I believed a sustainability report was unnecessary as we have always worked with a vision of setting the green standard in the industry. However, our clients and stakeholders demand more transparency in what we are doing and what our next goals are. This will also make it easier to hold us accountable.
The full report can be found here.
*https://www.statista.com/statistics/1229367/data-center-average-annual-pue-worldwide/