The Board of Directors of the iMasons Climate Accord, a program of Infrastructure Masons, calls on all providers working in data centers to support greater transparency in Scope 3 emissions as part of the effort wider to reduce the carbon footprint of the industry.
Consisting of AWS, Digital Realty, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Schneider Electric, the Board of Directors published an open letter that explains the importance of widespread acceptance of the Environmental Product Declaration, which a standardized, third-party verified document reporting the emissions contained therein. a product. The EPD describes the greenhouse gas emissions of a product throughout its entire life cycle, from the raw materials of the product (for example, its extraction, transportation and processing methods), to production. , transportation, product use and end of life. (eg, landfill, recycling, recycling, etc.).
Although EPDs are common in some business sectors, EPD adoption in the data center industry is lacking. The open letter shows a major push from the world's largest hyperscalers and digital infrastructure companies to drive meaningful change across the industry, partnering with trusted providers.
It is essential to continue to ensure that the digital infrastructure industry shrinks as it grows. The signatories of the iMasons Board of Directors' open letter all have a net-zero carbon emission commitment to address their responsibility for mitigating the carbon emissions of manufacturing facilities (with the term- period from 2025 to 2040, which is at least 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement), and this document marks another step towards de-employment.
Hyperscalers have implemented strategies to reduce and/or mitigate emissions 1 and 2. As they seek to achieve zero carbon emissions in the coming years, solving the next piece of the sustainability puzzle depends on reducing Scope 3 emissions, which can represent anywhere from 38-69 percent of a data center's total carbon footprint. Emission scope 3 is not achieved by the company at all; rather, it involves indirect emissions throughout the value chain.
Access to key information in EPD empowers data center owners, operators and end users to effectively calculate their environmental impact and make informed decisions. products (servers, cooling systems, uninterruptible power supplies and services based on low Scope 3 emissions, well suited to long-term goals. .
“EPD is key to changing the future of digital infrastructure to be more robust and climate-friendly. Adopting EPD in global supply chains creates sustainable and reliable results. Because data standardized and verified documents provide a layer of transparency, this initiative supports a collaborative approach to reducing carbon emissions and environmental footprints,” said Miranda Gardiner, executive director of iMasons Climate Accord, a consortium of 250+ members representing a combined market capitalization of $8 trillion.
“At AWS, we are committed to achieving zero carbon emissions across our operations by 2040 by investing in carbon-free energy, scaling solutions, and collaborating with partners to expand impact,” said Eric Wilcox, vice president of data center engineering. on AWS. “We support iMasons' call for suppliers to accept the use of environmental product statements. Doing so will provide greater transparency of Scope 3 emissions within the facility and help accelerate industry-wide efforts to reduce our carbon footprint.
“As a leading data center company, we recognize the need to address Scope 3 emissions associated with building new data centers,” said Lex Coors, chief technology officer of the data center. data and engineering officer for the digital building and member of the Infrastructure Masons Board of Directors. “We are not only committed to transparency by advocating for the adoption of EPDs; we are taking decisive steps to empower the entire industry to make smart and responsible choices that align with our ambitions for sustainability. This initiative is critical as we strive to meet the growing demands of the digital world in a sustainable manner. “
“In line with our commitment to open standards and our company-wide goal of achieving zero emissions in all our operations and the value chain, we support the industry's adoption of a product statement on environment as an important tool for low-carbon infrastructure,” said Joe Kava, vice president, global knowledge center. “As a member of the Board of Directors of iMasons Climate Accord, Google is excited to help accelerate solutions that drive progress toward a sustainable and transparent data center industry.”
“Emissions reduction is Meta's top priority to achieve net-zero emissions across the value chain by 2030. We are working together to call for greater transparency in our manufacturing center supply chain to better understand the carbon footprint of the infrastructure that supports our operations. These announcements will play an important role in accelerating decarbonization efforts for tomorrow's data centers,” said Rachel Peterson, VP, data centers at Meta.
“Microsoft has committed to become carbon negative by 2030 and to eliminate all greenhouse gases produced since our founding in 2050. By joining our colleagues in promoting sustainability and the use of digital innovation to drive progress, Microsoft is helping to create a more sustainable future for all,” said Shirin O'Connor, CVP, datacenter engineering, procurement and construction, Microsoft.
“For the digital infrastructure industry to meet the goal of net-zero emissions, carbon emissions must be a key consideration in purchasing decisions,” said Anna Timme, member of iMasons Board of Directors, who is the head of sustainability for the secure power and data center at Schneider Electric. “Promoting the use of EPDs across the industry is an important step towards carbon-based decision-making. Schneider Electric has been dedicated to publishing EPDs since 2008, and we are excited about the impact it will have on industry adoption.” as we move toward net-zero.”
The open letter is the second published by the ICA demanding action from suppliers to accelerate decarbonisation efforts. In April 2023, the ICA Board of Directors called on data center industry suppliers to use less concrete in their data center infrastructure.
