Data center sustainability standards

The chart and table in this document identify and describe a number of de facto standards and laws used in the field of data center sustainabilty and efficiency (for convenience, we use the term “standards” for all). This is not a complete list; nor is it stable. Content will be updated on an ongoing basis. This version was updated in May 2024.

The chart depicts the relative importance and applicability (voluntary versus mandatory) of the majority of the sustainability-related standards, in operation or planned, as of March 2023. The larger the bubble, the more pervasive the standard across the data center industry. A small bubble indicates either a jurisdictional, country or niche requirement or that the standard has low influence / adoption (see the color key for a detailed explanation). A large bubble indicates a standard with wide applicability across the industry.