Benchmarking data centre sustainability in 2025

Leading data centre players are having to up their game and demonstrate accountability when it comes to environmental concerns and regulatory requirements. How far have they come in the past year? Asks Terry Storrar, Managing Director, Leaseweb UK.

This time last year, we clearly identified sustainability as a business-critical priority for data centre operators as customers increasingly demand green credentials. We also noted the rise in AI technologies and the exponential requirement they bring when it comes to compute power and storage. In the past twelve months, these trends have continued with a growing emphasis on environmental responsibility.

Play it cool

One primary outcome of the increase in energy consumption and the need to restrain it is the rise in cooling systems. As customer demand fuels the development of ever more powerful servers, investment in cooling is soaring. That includes a range of new initiatives, such as water-cooling servers and fully water-cooled racks that can manage energy resources more efficiently. We are also seeing more organisations turn to renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, as well as efforts to neutralise carbon use entirely. These improvements lead the way in our attempts to prioritise sustainability.

Compliance is key

It is easy to talk a big game when it comes to sustainability, however, customers are increasingly looking for hard evidence that operators are transparent and validated. That’s why the need to demonstrate investment in sustainability and compliance with targets is now paramount. At the same time, from a customer perspective, environmental credentials are a key differentiator when looking at data centre suppliers and services. It is therefore important that companies do everything they can to meet industry standards, such as ISO 14001:2015. And regardless of what sector an end customer operates in, providers can no longer ignore their own accountability for environmental targets.

The Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)

The EED requires data centre operators to report key performance indicators (KPIs) related to energy efficiency and sustainability, including audits, energy management systems under the ISO 50001 standard, reporting and the use of renewables. The CSDDD focuses on due diligence processes to identify and mitigate adverse human rights and environmental impacts, including supply chain scrutiny so they comply with human rights and environmental standards. Companies with over 1,000 employees and a turnover of EUR 450 million must comply within five years. In 2025, these directives will come to the fore as the industry aims to promote transparency, reduce energy consumption, and ensure sustainable practices. 

Maintaining data sovereignty

Outside of sustainability, data centre specialists should not avoid other topical issues, such as data sovereignty, in 2025. This issue first surfaced a few years ago and has since become an essential consideration for providers to bear in mind. We must keep up to date on how world events and developments can impact where and how data should be stored, so that the correct provision for sovereignty is integrated into customer infrastructures. Data centre professionals are also assisting in the development of leading data sovereignty initiatives, such as the European Cloud Campus. Such projects will help data centre operators develop AI and cloud applications that work on data stored and processed within Europe, strengthening the European Commission’s commitment to creating a robust, sovereign European cloud.  Such initiatives will drive collaboration among key players and will play an important role alongside sustainability in 2025.

A green future

Sustainability – and security – are two of the first things that customers ask about when they are evaluating data centre services. There is no longer an assumption that green credentials are in the background – they are very much at the forefront of the tender process. That’s why it is vital that businesses throughout the data centre industry keep up with the latest accreditation standards. Maintaining these is just as difficult, so it is important to invest in the long term as the industry will only become stricter with sustainability measurements in 2025 and beyond.

Between sustainability, sovereignty and compliance, 2025 is set to be a busy year for data centre operators. Now is the time to make sure your own house is in order and you are ready to meet the needs of a customer base looking for a green future.