The regulatory landscape is changing, quickly.
As digital transformation continues to accelerate globally, the rising demand for data centers inevitably leads to increased energy consumption, carbon emissions, and water usage. Global awareness regarding sustainability is on the rise, prompting the emergence of key regulatory frameworks, such as the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), California Title 24 in the USA, Singapore’s Data Centre Energy Efficiency Scheme (DCS), Australia’s National Built Environment Rating System (NABERS), and United States SEC Climate Risk Disclosures. With so many emerging reporting regulations to keep track of, it can be challenging to know where to start.
“Most operators expect carbon emissions reporting requirements soon — yet many are unprepared.”
Uptime Institute Global Survey of IT and Data Center Managers (SEPT 2022)
The Nlyte Data Center Sustainability Compliance Reporting Solution simplifies compliance reporting. It offers a holistic dashboard for real-time sustainability measures and a reporting framework with industry-defined calculations and metrics to simplify sustainability compliance reporting. Additionally, this solution features the Nlyte® Data Center Sustainability Index™ (DCSI), an integrated score offering an immediate overview of your data center’s overall sustainability.
Regional Legislation
| Region | Legislation | Resource | Notes |
| Europe / EU | EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) | Executive Brief – EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) Critical Compliance Regulations Impacting Data Center Operators | Failure to comply with the directive can result in fines and other penalties. Under the revised EED [Source: EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) is the Official Journal of the European Union], data centers with an installed IT power demand of at least 100 kilowatts will be required to report their energy performance annually. |
| USA / Global | United States SEC Climate Risk Disclosures | Executive Brief Climate Risk Disclosures in Data Centers: A Review of the Proposed SEC Guidelines | SEC’s proposed requirements for all publicly traded companies. While these proposed regulations are still open for comment and have not been finalized, companies operating data centers should already start to prepare for these requirements. By comprehending the climate-related risks to their data centers and proactively managing these risks, companies can safeguard their operations and investors from the fallout of climate change. |
| USA / California | California Title 24 | California Title 24 is a set of building energy efficiency standards that applies to all newly constructed and existing buildings in the state. Title 24 includes several specific requirements for data centers: • Computer room energy efficiency: Data centers must meet specific energy efficiency requirements for their computer rooms. These requirements are based on the size and design of the computer room. • PUE monitoring: Data centers must install and maintain a PUE monitoring system. PUE is a measure of the efficiency of a data center’s cooling system. • Water use: Data centers must use water efficiently. This includes using water-efficient cooling systems and fixtures. | |
| Australia | Australia’s National Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) | Understanding NABERS for Data Centres: A Shift Towards Sustainable IT | The National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) is a government-led initiative to measure the environmental performance of Australian buildings and tenancies. NABERS has a specific rating system for data centers, which is designed to assess the energy efficiency and environmental impact of data centers in Australia. The NABERS rating for data centers is based on a facility’s actual operational data, not design. The rating is calculated using several factors, including: • The Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of the data center. • The energy efficiency of the data center’s cooling system. • The amount of water consumed by the data center. |
| Singapore | Singapore’s Data Centre Energy Efficiency Scheme (DCS) | Executive Brief Singapore’s Data Centre Energy Efficiency Scheme (DCS) | Singapore’s Data Centre Energy Efficiency Scheme (DCS) is a government-led initiative to promote energy efficiency in data centers in Singapore. The DCS was launched in 2015 and is administered by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). |
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