The pace of AI-driven growth means the data centre sector cannot afford fragmented approaches to sustainability, writes James Fisher, head of strategic partnerships at the BRE
Data centres are undergoing unprecedented expansion. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates global electricity demand from the sector is set to more than double to 945 TWh by the end of the decade – equivalent to Japan’s current total power consumption. At an estimated annual growth rate of 15%, this is more than four times faster than electricity demand from all other sectors.
This elevated demand is placing increasing pressure on electricity networks, planning systems and the wider built environment as governments and industry race to secure the capacity needed to support AI-driven growth. Ensuring this growth can be delivered sustainably will require more coordinated approaches grounded in recognised standards.
This rapid growth is already reshaping debates around where digital infrastructure should be located. Pressure on grid capacity, water availability and access to digital infrastructure means that data centres are expanding from current hotspots, such as Texas in the US, Milton Keynes in the UK or Shenzhen in China to new regions such as Michigan, Scotland or Gui’an. This has led to conflict with local communities, planners and grid operators.
At the same time, scrutiny of the environmental and social impact of data centres is intensifying. Concerns around electricity demand, water consumption, carbon emissions and pressure on local infrastructure are becoming increasingly central to debates around future data centre growth.
Recent revisions by the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology to projected emissions from AI data centres have only reinforced the scale of the challenge and the need for clearer sustainability standards.
As data centres become increasingly prominent within towns and cities, public trust and community willingness to accommodate future development will also become increasingly important.
Rethinking sustainable data centres
Encouragingly, the industry is already beginning to rethink what sustainable data centre development should look like in practice. Alongside improvements in energy efficiency, operators are increasingly exploring measures such as heat reuse, alternative energy systems, battery storage, biodiversity initiatives and closer integration with local infrastructure and communities. Others are investigating more flexible approaches to energy demand, including co-location with renewable generation and storage assets.
However, while these initiatives demonstrate growing momentum across the sector, approaches remain fragmented and difficult to compare consistently across markets and operators.
While the nuances might be local, the challenge of where best to site data centres is global. Yet despite more data centres being built around the world, the sector still lacks internationally aligned frameworks capable of consistently defining and benchmarking sustainability performance.
Consistent standards for sustainable digital infrastructure
As a founding member of the new Greening AI Data Centres Coalition, BRE is working alongside organisations from across the built environment, sustainability and finance sectors to help close that gap by establishing clearer and more credible standards for sustainable digital infrastructure.
Greater consistency in sustainability benchmarking will become increasingly important not only for operators and developers but also for investors, policymakers and local communities seeking greater transparency around how digital infrastructure is planned, delivered and operated.
The coalition will focus on developing common sustainability criteria and an internationally aligned framework of environmental and social performance standards for data centres, covering energy, carbon, water, waste, biodiversity and community impact.
It will also support the development of credible green finance instruments, including green bonds and sustainability-linked loans, to help direct investment towards projects that meet the coalition’s standards.
BREEAM will play an important role in supporting more consistent sustainability standards for data centres globally and we are updating our data centres methodology under BREEAM V7.
The pace of AI-driven growth means the data centre sector cannot afford fragmented approaches to sustainability. Establishing credible, internationally aligned standards now will be essential to ensuring that future data centre development supports innovation and economic growth while balancing pressures on energy systems with the rapidly growing demand for the data centres that businesses, public services and communities increasingly rely upon.
The post Clear standards are needed before sustainable data centres can thrive appeared first on Planning, Building & Construction Today.
