Data-based actions for greening the planet must begin with greening our data centers

By Gopalakrishnan P, Managing Director, GBCI – South East Asia & Middle East Markets

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our times, as it threatens all life on earth. As the world takes collective action to minimize the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, it is increasingly using data-based models and decision-support techniques for gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the complexity of the situation as well as for uncovering solutions. Big Data, both real-time and historical, are being leveraged to locate harmful emissions and identify pressure points in manufacturing processes and supply chains. Big Data is also being used to analyze climate variations to highlight and predict current and future concerns. Even as data becomes increasingly important in the fight against climate change, its use itself must also become sustainable and “green”.

India will need more data centers in the coming years
Data centers are responsible for approximately three percent of global power consumption and two percent of total greenhouse gas emissions – almost the same carbon footprint as that of the aviation industry. As more and more businesses globally realize the dynamism of their data and what it can help them achieve, they are moving from piecemeal data infrastructure towards full-fledged data centers for better data management. In India too, the need for data centers is growing exponentially. A recent report by JLL India suggested that India’s data center sector would need an investment of US$3.7 billion over the next three years to meet the industry requirement for six million square feet. It further stated that as India’s data center landscape continues to evolve, the industry is expected to grow rapidly to reach 1,007 MW by 2023 from its existing capacity of 447 MW. While organizations in the public and private sectors must add more data centers to meet their respective goals and capitalize on new opportunities, they will also need to be mindful of India’s sustainability targets as well as their own.

The good news is that Indian businesses are already thinking green when it comes to establishing world-class data centers. CtrlS, for instance, today owns one of the most advanced and sustainable data centers in India, which employs best practices in energy management, excellent indoor air quality management, and high-performance rainwater management.

Even energy-intensive data centers can become sustainable and green
Data centers can become green by reducing their carbon emissions and increasing their overall energy efficiency. Data centers rely heavily on electricity for running and maintaining their data storage equipment. They must also maintain ambient temperature to prevent the servers from overheating. The latest version of LEED v4.1 has raised the energy reference standard to ASHRAE 90.1 2016 while adding a carbon metric for the first time to the rating systems for new and existing buildings. This addition helps data centers in directly measuring the building’s climate impact as determined by its building energy efficiency, onsite generation and storage, and the associated grid. Recent changes to the renewable energy credit reward those projects that adopt measures with lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainability is not a singular action; it is a mindset
As a first step in their greening journey, Indian data centers can implement best practices at the design stage for ensuring energy conservation in their buildings. Right from room cooling to chiller plant operation and maintenance, there are many areas that organizations need to direct their efforts towards. The installation of energy-efficient electrical systems in rooms and the use of energy-efficient hardware in data centers can go a long way towards reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Metering and monitoring of all energy sub-systems in data centers is highly recommended as it enables the data center operators to monitor and improve performance.

Further, by subscribing to LEED V4.1 standards, which rely on real-time data, data centers can avail of expert guidance, support, and implementation of green strategies to ensure that their premises are truly sustainable and green. These are all important steps, and they should be taken at the earliest. For, in our data-guided fight against climate change, sustainability must start with green data and green data centers.