Ramboll report outlines roadmap to sustainable data centres
Author: Joe Peck
A new report published by Ramboll, an architecture, engineering, and consultancy company, at Climate Week NYC sets out a strategic framework for reducing the environmental impact of data centres and achieving net zero carbon.
The report, Developing sustainable data centres: A strategic roadmap to achieve net zero carbon and reduce environmental impact, provides guidance across the full value chain, with recommendations for owners, developers, operators, and consultants.
It addresses key sustainability challenges including embodied and operational carbon, biodiversity, circularity, energy, and water use.
Tackling operational and embodied carbon
Data centres accounted for around 1.5% of global electricity consumption last year, a figure projected by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to double by 2030. Given this demand, operational carbon is the largest component of emissions.
The report states that net zero operational carbon is achievable through measures such as optimised energy efficiency, renewable energy procurement, energy reuse and export, and demand response.
Embodied carbon, associated with construction materials, can be reduced by using low-carbon steel and concrete, sourcing locally, and reusing materials from decommissioned buildings.
Ed Ansett, Ramboll’s Global Director of Technology and Innovation, says, “The construction of data centres powered by the rise of artificial intelligence is booming across the globe, driving unprecedented demand for electricity and significantly contributing to global greenhouse gas emissions, increased water consumption, waste production, habitat destruction, and resource depletion.
“These challenges can be managed and mitigated if data centres are built with climate, biodiversity, and circularity impacts in mind from the very start.”
Biodiversity, circularity, and water use
The report highlights the importance of integrating biodiversity into site planning, recommending ecological surveys to identify protected species and habitats at an early stage. It also calls for the involvement of landscape architects to help reduce ecological impacts.
For circularity, Ramboll proposes a benchmark of 100% reuse, reusability, or recyclability of materials, with no output to landfill or incineration.
Water consumption, a major concern in regions with limited supply, can be reduced by achieving water neutrality. Strategies include avoiding water-based cooling, maximising cycles of concentration, and making use of alternative sources such as rainwater.
Ed continues, “There are economic benefits for data centre owners if they focus on circular practices. For instance, the sole physical byproduct of data centre energy consumption is heat, which has historically been unused and released to atmosphere. Data centres are in an excellent position to export what would otherwise be wasted energy.”
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