We're passionate about delivering better sustainability whilst decreasing costs and improving data center performance. In this blog we examine just some of the reasons that Sustainability is the future for all data centers.
You don’t need to be a scientist to know that global warming is spiralling out of control. According to Nasa, the planet has warmed by 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit (1.18 degrees Celsius) in just over a century, with the second warmest year on record happening in 2019 and in May 2020, the highest ever levels of C02 were recorded.
Whilst many of us experience the effects of warmer summers and milder winters, climate change can have devastating effects on communities and wildlife, with 11% of the world’s population currently vulnerable to disastrous impacts. The IPCC predicted that an increase of just 0.5 degrees over acceptable conditions would result in “substantially more poverty, extreme heat, sea-level rise, habitat loss, and drought”.
Why Move to Sustainable Data Centers?
With this in mind, it’s not difficult to see the effects Global warming is already having on the planet, just look at the 2019/2020 Australian wildfires. The increased temperatures, high winds, and prolonged periods of drought meant that it took many months for the fires to be contained. The impact of the fires was catastrophic, with 46 million acres of land burnt, 3,500 homes lost, and several people dead.
And then you have the floods across Europe this summer, with the Belgian Minister of home affairs claiming the floods to be “one of the greatest natural disasters our country has ever known”. The warmer temperatures have resulted in the water on land and at sea evaporating more rapidly causing rain and heavier storms. As the temperature continues to increase, so will these types of events, and unless countries adapt we will see more flash floods having devastating impacts.
Only recently in the UK, with temperatures hitting a sweltering 32 degrees, and rainfall at an all-time high – scientists have warned that the country is already ‘undergoing disruptive climate change’ and in the next 10 years could see temperatures regularly rise to 40 degrees Celsius in the summer if we get 1.5 degrees warming. The country is not built for these kinds of temperatures, homes and buildings are specifically built to retain heat with little or no air-conditioning, roads were melting, and several deaths have been recorded as a result of the warmer climates.
Even as I write this, wildfires have been blazing across Italy, Greece, and Turkey for almost a week now as temperatures are soaring to an incredible 45 degrees Celsius daily. Homes, holiday resorts and beaches are being evacuated. And whilst wildfires are common in these areas, they are not usually this big. In Turkey alone there are currently 120 active fires due to the weather being around 5-6 degrees warmer than in it usually is for this time of year, which scientists have put down to climate change.
As records continue to be broken, countries have come together to slow down the damaging effects we’re having on the planet. The case for change is overwhelming - with scientists, environmentalists, and global leaders in agreement that our greenhouse gas and carbon emissions are endangering the very fabric of our planet. Long dismissed as pseudo-scientific claims or at best, lacking proof, climate change and the impact of our carbon footprint is undeniable.
Why Move to Sustainable Data Centers?
The Paris Climate Agreement, which was adopted in 2015 before becoming officially effective in November 2016, consolidated a global shift toward Carbon Integrity, signed and endorsed by nearly 200 countries around the world and a clear signal of universal intent to slow and reverse the damage done to our planet by almost 100 years of industrialization.
This landmark agreement consists of 12 key points including a “Long Term Temperature Goal” which aims to ensure that the global temperature increase is limited to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. By limiting the increase in temperature, world leaders recognise that this would substantially reduce the impact of global warming.
Other points include, “Global Peaking and ‘climate neutrality” which aims to reach the peak of global greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and achieve ‘net-zero’ no later than the second half of the 21stcentury, whilst recognising the divide and disparity between developed and underdeveloped countries.
One key element to the Paris Climate Agreement is that of Migration which clearly states that “Developed countries should continue to take the lead by undertaking absolute economy-wide reduction targets” closely linked to their “intended nationally determined contributions” or as we might know them better, Carbon reduction targets.
These targets at the country level directly impact businesses in every single country, from technology, retail, logistics, professional services and of course within Data Centers this edict is clear on our responsibilities within the Paris framework as well as within INDC’s.
At Gaia Edge we support data center and sustainability leaders deliver green performance faster. To talk to us about achieving your Sustainability ambitions get in touch today.
So, what is having an impact on global warming, and what can we do to change it? First we need to look at what and how energy is being consumed. Recent studies show that Global Data Center energy consumption is estimated at around 1% of our total energy use but studies in the UK set this much higher with the UK Energy Research Center estimating (including enterprise on-premises scenarios) as high as 12.3% of all the energy consumed in the UK. With technology advances and the digital economy on the rise, this number is only set to increase. And, whilst these figures only paint half the picture, they are compelling when looking at areas that need to change.
But it isn’t just powering these Data Centers that is consuming all of the energy, but also the cooling of the environment and facilities they’re kept in. Hardware heats up as we know and overheating can be catastrophic for the Data Center performance, therefore a great deal of power is used to keep the hardware cool and functioning properly. Analysts report between 30 and 55% of all Data Center energy use lies with powering cooling and ventilation systems – energy that is largely still carbon powered and unsustainable.
And it’s not just power used, many Data Centers consume a lot of water, with only a third of operators currently reporting their water consumption. Even within the reported numbers there is a lack of visibility over Water Energy Source Use where consumption measures account for water used in the creation of energy.
When we think how much time people spend online, whether that’s on our phones, working at our computer, downloading a book to a tablet, or purchasing the latest must-have item, we rarely consider the price of that action on our environment, particularly when billions of people around the world all online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, that is a lot of pressure put on our Data Centers. Many people don’t realise that every single online interaction, no matter how small, contributes to climate change, whilst putting significant pressure on the Data Center. As technology advances, and the demands for connection speeds gets faster, Data Centers face technological, operational, and sustainable challenges.
Why Move to Sustainable Data Centers?
Due to their current contribution to climate change and high energy usage, migrating to and creating sustainable Data Centers is crucial if we’re going to limit the global temperature increase to just 1.5 degrees.
Sustainable Data Centers aim to reduce energy usage and water consumption whilst limiting the amount of waste the facilities make, and reusing the waste they do create by using more efficient methods. With new technologies such as immersive cooling, hyperscale infrastructure, recycled water systems and innovative cabling available, Data Centers should be looking at ways they can decrease their carbon footprint. That’s where Gaia Edge is leading the charge, whilst setting internal targets is a good start, road-mapping and achieving targets is the only real pathway. We’ll work with you in order to help you keep track of any progress made towards reaching your goals, carbon reductions and offer cost savings of over 40% versus a traditional Data Center build. Our team of experienced, highly knowledgeable experts will keep your business accountable whilst helping you report back to internal and external stakeholders on the impacts made.
Gaia Edge are passionate about creating a greener, more sustainable future for Data Centers. If you are too, get in touch with the team today and begin your journey to a greener future.
At Gaia Edge we support data center and sustainability leaders deliver green performance faster. To talk to us about achieving your Sustainability ambitions get in touch today.
Copyright © 2022 - All Rights Reserved.
Gaia Edge ™ is operated under licence by Posetiv Cloud Ltd. Company Reg No. 11815224
racetozero@gaia-edge.com
We use cookies to analyse website traffic and optimise your website experience.