Depending on who is asked, a data center can be several things: an irreplaceable engine in the modern tech-enabled economy, a source of growing concern for the public, or maybe both.

One thing a data center is not, however, is an island.

As a fuel solutions provider for the industry, ESI Total Fuel Management advocates for operating data centers proactively and sustainably while taking into account the interests of multiple parties, including the people outside the gates. Brittani Clarke Clayman, ESI’s director of marketing and communications and a certified data center sustainability professional, said this is known as “responsible resiliency.”

“This is an operating framework that joins critical uptime with measurable readiness, environmental stewardship and community accountability,” Clarke Clayman said.

The approach can apply to something as basic as the types of fuel a data center uses for its backup generators. Its go-to fuel might be hydrotreated vegetable oil, a renewable alternative to conventional diesel. But in the event HVO supplies run short during a power outage, the center has made sure it can keep operating through deliveries of ultra-low sulfur diesel for a while.

“You're being resilient because you have two different types of fuel you could rely on in an emergency,” Clarke Clayman said.

Asking Tough Questions

But responsible resiliency doesn’t stop with making sure the generators keep operating. Clarke Clayman said the concept also encompasses the data center’s impact on people and organizations beyond the property line. 

While preplanning can help the facility pivot and stay in operation during a crisis, operators must also think about neighbors who might be inconvenienced by a sudden increase in fuel deliveries to the site at all hours. Identifying and addressing such issues calls for the facility to follow five principles, Clarke Clayman said. 

It begins with treating all equipment and parties impacted by the center’s operations as a single interdependent system, and also using hard data obtained by monitoring, testing and record-keeping to demonstrate operational readiness, rather than relying on assumptions about equipment reliability. The three other principles are an ongoing effort to prevent events such as avoidable spills, an attitude of continuous improvement, and taking community concerns into account.

This requires preparation. Getting back to the earlier fuel example, it can mean making sure generators have enough HVO on hand to operate continuously for 48 hours during an outage. This reduces dependence on fuel deliveries during an emergency when regional fuel and transportation resources may also be needed by hospitals and other critical facilities. Another piece is to plan for additional fuel deliveries to arrive at a predetermined cadence, to reduce traffic or emissions concerns for neighbors.

“To be responsibly resilient, you've got to get into the minutia and plan as much as you can for events,” Clarke Clayman said. “You have to ask the questions that maybe nobody in your organization has asked before.”

Resiliency Must Be Demonstrated

To begin this process, Clarke Clayman recommended performing a cross-functional and documented gap assessment of the entire backup-power chain. Key parts of this exercise include defining critical loads, recovery objectives, expected outage scenarios and the duration the site must be able to sustain operations using only backup power.

Other important tasks include mapping the interdependencies that exist among equipment, vendors, access routes and staffing — how can a failure in any one of them impact the others? Then, test the system to validate the efficacy of automatic starts, sustained operation, escalation procedures and other processes. 

Nothing should be taken for granted or left to chance, Clarke Clayman said.

“Resiliency is not a label attached to equipment,” she said. “It is a condition that must be demonstrated across equipment, fuel, people, procedures and external dependencies.”

A proactive approach is also needed to prepare for potential public impacts. This begins with outreach, so neighbors can ask questions and the facility can explain its backup equipment and how it is tested and maintained. 

While there is scarcely a person today who does not rely on the services provided by data centers, people often have questions or concerns about things like noise, emissions, traffic or the center’s impact on the electrical grid. It’s important to provide accurate information and create opportunities to address questions and concerns from the public, Clarke Clayman said.

“Responsible resiliency treats both sides of that equation as part of operational performance,” she said. 

ESI helps clients manage their fuel reliably through services including fuel supply, engineered systems, maintenance, delivery coordination, environmental compliance and program documentation. But it also defines its mission more broadly, she said, which is where “responsible” and “resilience” come together.

“ESI stands for Environmental Solutions International, and we are interested in sustainability, stewardship and how a data center's footprint affects the community,” Clarke Clayman said. “We partner with our clients to keep their facility resilient while also taking care of the environment that we've been entrusted with.”

This article was produced in collaboration between ESI Total Fuel Management and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.