As the world’s insatiable consumption of digital content continues to give the data center industry a boost, big data center providers are growing more proactive in their sustainability efforts.
The industry is looking to improve its triple bottom line—people, planet and profit, JLL experts said in the firm’s 2016 Data Center Outlook report. New technologies and regulations are allowing the industry to do just that—particularly with more sustainability and corporate responsibility programs.
In the US, data center facilities have greatly improved their electricity savings and are on target to save energy use by another 10% to 40% by 2020, JLL reports. And as users’ criterion becomes more sophisticated in terms of space and power usage, providers are catering to that demand.
“Because users are taking such a proactive approach to wanting green initiatives and green power at the data center, companies are looking to establish green initiatives in a way that really isn’t a significant premium over and above the average cost for a traditional data center not going green,” JLL Data Center Group associate Mark Stratman Jr. tells Bisnow.
Cutting down on unnecessary space has also helped. Providers are being more strategic in how they build space, keeping costs in line. “Gone are the days of overbuilding a facility that customers might consider nice to have, but not mission-critical,” the report reads. Providers are creating more flexible spaces that cater to 80% of the market, versus the top 20 users.
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