Synopsis

This report covers the final three data center sustainability elements: water use management; circularity standards; and siting and design factors. Water management strategies are dictated by the data center cooling system(s) — managers must minimize water use. Circularity considerations include end-of-life product recycling and reuse, the use of recycled materials, and heat recovery. The siting and design of a new data center and / or the selection of a colocation or cloud facility set the boundaries for the sustainability strategy for all the associated IT.

• Operators must track their water use and discharges and set a water use reduction goal as appropriate.
• Water use reduction goals are complementary to energy use reduction goals: energy efficiency and conservation projects will usually reduce water use.
• IT operators should plan to maximize the life of their IT equipment and ensure environmentally sound end-of-life management.
• Establishing and meeting sustainability criteria for the siting and design of new builds and refits and for the selection of colocation and cloud partners is critical to the successful implementation of a sustainability strategy.