Sustainable Data Center Services

INTRODUCTION

Recognizing the urgency to address the data center industry's carbon footprint, operators are proactively embracing renewable energy and demonstrating their voluntary commitment to responsible business practices, with initiatives like the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact (CNDCP).

Bureau Veritas have been directly involved on behalf of the TIC Council and the European Commission, in developing an Assessment Framework in compliance to the EU Taxonomy’s technical screening criteria and the EU Code of Conduct for Data Centre Efficiency. In working with the members of the European Data Center Association (EUDCA) and CNDCP SRI, Bureau Veritas is aligned with the requirements of compliance to the range of legislation including the EU Taxonomy, EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

sector

The Bureau Veritas Data Center Energy Efficiency & Sustainability Services are primarily focused on the data center industry within Europe, the Nordics and the UK. The services support data center operators in navigating the complex regulatory landscape and achieving their sustainability goals.

Data centers exceeding 500kWIT demand must publicly report on energy management, IT, and data traffic performance indicators (Directive 2023/1791)

CHALLENGE

The data center industry is projected to generate around 2.5 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions globally by 2030, driven by the expansion of AI and cloud computing. Leading financial institutions have corroborated these forecasts, underscoring the imperative for the sector to accelerate its decarbonization efforts.

Data centers are at the heart of our digital world, now recognized as being as important as other utilities, their staff are classified as key workers. With increasing digitization of media, business, cloud computing and the arrival of artificial intelligence the sector is growing fast, and with that growth comes increasing energy and water consumption and its resulting impact.

Driven by forward-thinking regulations like the EU Taxonomy Regulation, Energy Efficiency Directive, and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, as well as competitive and environmental trends, data centers are well-positioned to pioneer innovative solutions that reduce their environmental impact while maintaining high performance. 

OUR IMPACT

In 2023, Bureau Veritas' data center efficiency and sustainability services generated over €500,000 in revenue. By 2025, the company aims to exceed €750,000 in revenue from these services, supporting customers' progress towards climate neutrality.

Why Bureau Veritas?

Partnering with an industry leader like Bureau Veritas sends a powerful message about your commitment to achieve sustainable operations. As an authorized certification body, Bureau Veritas, leverages robust assessment frameworks to verify the compliance of individual data centres, operators, or specific tenants, whether they are signatories to the CNDCP SRI or wish to use the EU Commission Taxonomy Assessment Framework for Data Centres.

SUCCESS STORY

In 2023, Digital Realty, a global data center leader, entrusted Bureau Veritas to independently verify its compliance with the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact and EU Taxonomy's stringent criteria. Bureau Veritas' experts guided Digital Realty through an "educational" audit process, enhancing transparency and documentation. This collaborative approach showcased Bureau Veritas' unparalleled expertise in sustainable data center assessments. As a result, Digital Realty emerged as an industry pioneer, its operations validated against 106 rigorous technical screening points, solidifying its commitment to environmental responsibility and positioning it as a frontrunner in the race towards net zero.

our services

  • CNDCP & SRI Compliance Verification: 3rd Party independent verification of compliance to the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact (CNDCP) Self-Regulatory Initiative (SRI)  
  • EU Taxonomy Alignment Verification: 3rd Party independent verification of alignment with the technical screening criteria of Commission Delegation Regulation 2021/2319  
  • EED Compliance Verification: 3rd Party independent verification of compliance with the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED)  
  • NFRD Compliance Gap Analysis: Guidance and Gap Analysis on compliance to the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD)  
  • CSRD Compliance Gap Analysis: Guidance and Gap Analysis on compliance to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)  
  • Data Center Technical Screening Criteria Gap Analysis: Gap Analysis on existing Data Centres for alignment with the technical screening criteria  
  • New Build Data Center Technical Alignment Verification: Design review on new build Data Centres for verification of alignment with the technical screening criteria