Industry Experts Meet to Define and Validate Data Center Sustainability Framework

Informa’s Data Center Efficiency Evolution Program (DEEP) Poised to Make Sustainability Quantifiable and Simple for Data Center Operators and Facilities

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A dozen of the industry’s greatest minds met last week to peer review and validate a framework designed to quantify and simplify data center sustainability during Data Center World 2022, March 28-31. Informa’s Data Center Efficiency Evolution Program (DEEP) team spent 18 months developing best practices in sustainable data center operations that twelve handpicked senior data center practitioners spent a day discussing, validating and adding to. The framework will serve as the foundation upon which DEEP certification will be based.

“It was an honor to participate in the debate, thought provoking discussion, and collaborative decision making with these passionate professionals. They brought decades of experience managing data centers to the discussion, and most importantly, a passion for simplifying sustainability for others,” said Liz Cruz, DEEP Director.

“This was an exercise the industry needed. I’m proud of the resulting framework and confident that it can be a powerful tool in both implementing and evaluating sustainable practices in thousands of data centers,” Ben Stewart, Senior VP of NTT Data Centers said.

DEEP, as an organization, will use this framework to achieve two important goals; 1) make the implementation of sustainability easier for data center managers and; 2) recognize and honor those data centers that are employing best practices in sustainability. To do the latter, DEEP will use this industry-approved framework to assess and score data centers.

Any reputable framework must be both reviewed and tested. Over the past few months, DEEP has worked with several leading data centers in the US to test the framework in practice. DEEP has completed its fourth partnership for certification – working with companies dedicated to reducing environmental impacts and furthering adoption of sustainable practices in the industry. Bluebird Networks, Digital Fortress, DC BLOX and Banner Health have facilities that are now recognized as DEEP Certified Data Centers – demonstrating best-in-class sustainable operations.

“It’s important to recognize the good work these companies are doing in the industry, at these DEEP certified data centers we’re seeing underground facilities, 100% renewable energy, rainwater collection and use of free air cooling. These are stories and practices that need to be shared, told, and lauded,” said Kevin Kent, Director of DEEP Data Center Assessments.

Bill Thomson, VP of Marketing and Product Management at DC BLOX explained that “this certification represents a very important milestone for our organization. Not only does it define a new industry standard to measure our sustainability progress against, but also gives our clients peace of mind to know that they are partnering with an organization that takes our responsibility to the environment seriously.”

DEEP thanks the following Leaders Lab participants for lending their experience and insight: Janna Connor, Andy Kasht, Ben Stewart, Butch Adkins, Cameron Wynne, Chris Cooke, Elliott Gillespie, Michael Richman, Michael Whitlock, Nick Benjamin, Pat Salvatore, Raymond Parpart and Todd Murren.

DEEP congratulates the following companies on their facilities’ well-deserved DEEP Certifications.

• Banner Health in Mesa, Arizona
• Bluebird Networks in Springfield, Missouri
• DC BLOX in Birmingham, Alabama
• Digital Fortress in Beaverton, Oregon

To learn more about Data Center Efficiency Evolution Program, visit www.datacenterevolve.com or contact Todd Piccuillo, DEEP Sales Director.

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