Our Digital Infrastructure Industry is big on messaging. In a review of recent industry messaging, we noted that the IT data center industry leads in sustainability, and efficiency gains outpace most industries. We talk about industry goals, commitments, and innovations. But the truth is – we have a way to go. In the recent Uptime Intelligence Global Survey of IT and data center Managers, 45% of those surveyed said they didn’t think the global data center sector is delivering meaningful reductions in environmental impacts, and our environmental commitments in curbing data center energy use, water usage, and greenhouse gas emissions are lacking. So, which is correct? The truth is, corporate Net Zero goals will be frequently missed, and overall difficulties and costs are underestimated. Our good intentions need more push from the executive level. And that same good intention needs to channel itself into better and more ongoing sustained collaboration with critical, regular, and ongoing collaboration between finance, IT, sustainability, and procurement in order to make more impact on sustainability progress. We must be sure that exterior collaboration must be included in the mix with colos, cloud providers, utilities, and energy providers along with IT equipment and service providers. Collaboration like this is imperative and key to solving these issues. This session will look at what needs to be done collectively to achieve sustainability goals and how to work collectively to take ownership and employ better communication and strategy to impact digital infrastructure sustainability goals.

Jay Dietrich (bio)
Research Director of Sustainabilty
Uptime Institute