Industry

Tech · Data Centers

For colocation, hyperscale, and enterprise sites, decarbonization hinges on IT load efficiency (virtualization, right-sizing), cooling (free cooling, liquid/immersion, hot/cold aisle containment), and power chain (UPS/transformer) optimization alongside renewables & PPAs. Track PUE, WUE, CUE, and SLAs while minimizing risk.

Data center sustainability

Key drivers & challenges

  • IT efficiency: virtualization, workload placement, server utilization, decommissioning.
  • Cooling: free/evaporative cooling, liquid/immersion, containment, CRAH/CRAC optimization.
  • Power chain: UPS eco-mode, transformer losses, harmonics/PF correction.
  • Water stewardship: WUE, make-up water, drift/bleed, dry coolers in water-stressed regions.
  • Resilience & compliance: SLA availability, diesel gensets usage, fire suppression & refrigerants.
Scope 1 — On-site
  • Diesel for standby gensets, periodic tests & outages.
  • Fugitives: HFCs (CRAC/VRF), Halon/clean agents leaks (legacy).
  • Facility vehicles & small boilers (if any).
Scope 2 — Electricity
  • Main driver: IT load + cooling + auxiliaries; track PUE.
  • Market vs location-based; PPAs/RECs, onsite solar & storage.
  • Submetering by hall/rack/tenant for allocation.
Scope 3 — Upstream
  • Capital goods: servers, racks, UPS, chillers, batteries.
  • Fuel & chemical supply chains; vendor travel; maintenance.
  • Construction phase impacts for new halls.
Scope 3 — Downstream
  • Leased asset disclosures, tenant allocations & SLAs.
  • E-waste, battery recycling, and end-of-life assets.
  • Distribution losses for wheeled power (optional).

Compliance & Frameworks

BRSR / SEBI

Energy, emissions, water, waste KPIs for tech campuses and DC sites with audit trails.

CSRD / ESRS E1–E5

Scope 1–3, intensity metrics (kWh/IT kW, tCO₂e/MWh, PUE/WUE/CUE), targets & plans.

GHG Protocol + DC Guides

Contractual instruments, tenant allocations, refrigerant & diesel accounting.

Sample Dashboard — DC Portfolio

Emissions & Intensity

tCO₂e & PUE/WUE/CUE (YTD)
0.84M
Scope 1
4.6M
Scope 2
1.9M
Scope 3
PUE
1.37
▼ 0.05 YoY
WUE (L/kWh)
0.86
▼ 12%
CUE (kgCO₂e/kWh)
0.41
▼ 9%
Progress to 2030 target (PUE ≤ 1.25)

Power & Cooling KPIs

IT load
74 MW
▲ +6%
UPS efficiency
96.8%
▲ +0.7 pts
Free-cooling hours
2,160 h
▲ +11%
Water use
3.2 Mm³
▼ 8%

Compliance Status

Updated
  • GHG Protocol alignment✔
  • BRSR energy & emissions✔
  • CSRD ESRS E1 targets▲ In progress
  • Refrigerant registry● Attention
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