The past year warrants a revision of generative AI power estimates, as GPU shipments have skyrocketed, despite some offsetting factors. However, uncertainty remains high, with no clarity on the viability of these spending levels.
The trend towards regulating and controlling data center energy use, efficiency and sustainability continues to grow globally, with the appearance of utility rate management regulations and the propagation policies influenced by the EU's EED.
This briefing report identifies and describes several de facto standards and laws used in the field of data center sustainability and efficiency (for convenience, we use the term "standards" for all).
Uptime Institute believes that data center operators should optimize facility-level sustainability performance before addressing ecosystem issues. A clear definition of data center sustainability is needed to enable this approach.
IT operators lack a credible work-per-energy metric to report overall IT and facilities system efficiency. Developments in reporting IT equipment work capacities enable the industry to begin experimenting with this metric.
In the US, the politicization of data center development is underway, driven by its impact on power prices. As state governments seek ways to protect consumers, operators will need to engage in the policy debate.
Digital twins are increasingly valued in complex data center applications, such as designing and managing facilities for AI infrastructure. Digitally testing and simulating scenarios can reduce risk and cost, but many challenges remain.
Data center builders who need power must navigate changing rules, unpredictable demands - and be prepared to trade.
The European Commission aims to ease climate risk reporting by removing mid-cap operators from CSRD's scope and delaying reports to 2028. But under current rules, 2025 reports are required and foreign-owned mid-cap operators stay covered.
Most data center organizations conduct climate change/ weather-related resiliency assessments in 2025 â even if it is not a formal requirement. Additionally, many enterprises demand these assessments from their cloud and colocation service…
Critics argue that data center water use is excessive and poorly managed. Operators should select a cooling system to fit the local climate and available water supply, explaining water use within the context of local conditions.
The US' SEC has withdrawn requirements for climate risk reporting, and the EU is revising its rules. Despite this, strong drivers remain for operators to measure their environmental impact
The European Commission, with the assistance of operators, needs to correct ambiguities in the EED reporting processes. Industry solutions can improve the quality and completeness of the submitted data.
The European Commission will soon publish its delegated report, recommending a data center rating scheme and performance standards. The accelerated timeline is too short to facilitate meaningful evaluation of these topics.
Uptime Institute's Climate Change and Sustainability Survey (n=974) benchmarks climate change and environmental sustainability issues across the data center industry.The attached data files below provide full results of the survey, including data…
Daniel Bizo
Jay Dietrich
Seb Shehadi
Peter Judge
John O'Brien
Andy Lawrence
Douglas Donnellan
Rose Weinschenk
Anthony Sbarra
Laurie Williams