An Oxymoron?

Is a 'sustainable data center an oxymoron or a case of ‘smoke and mirrors’?

The best answer to the above is……………….it all depends!

The drive to sustainability has never been stronger than it is today. Whether you count this as the ‘Thurnberg’ effect, or the ‘Attenborough Directive’ is mostly mute in the face of the stark industry choices. The Jevon’s Paradox comes into play; ‘the cheaper something becomes the more use of it is made’. From the dial up connection where a clock would run showing usage, to today’s ‘always on’ generation the costs have reduced while usage has exploded.

It would be easy to look at homeworking and lockdowns as a cause of this, however, while some services have seen growth, such as Netflix and Zoom, the use of data centers has not seen to have exploded at the same exponential rate. Much of this could be explained by the fact that the time to market for a new data centre could be 24 months or more.

Where we need to look for efficiencies is the legacy facilities as the time to achieve sustainable goals has arrived. These facilities have been in existence for a number of years, with an inefficient power train, emergency generation and UPS systems. Many of these facilities are only part way through the lifecycle/depreciation of their capital plant and there not be the CapEx within the business available to sustain a wholescale replacement of equipment.

What can these legacy facilities do? One way would be to look at moving to a 100% grid renewable energy supply.

100% grid renewable energy supply is surely a nirvana, which should be talked about in hushed tones? Or can the issue be obscured by paying an extra-over for the utility supply? What does this mean? You pay an ‘enhanced’ rate for your ‘green tariff’ and continue to use whatever the grid supplies you. To me this is very much like saying, if I take a flight (remember those?) if I eat 4 vegan meals a week, I have offset the carbon produced by the flight, or paying a bit more to ‘off-set’ the carbon. Surely the pandemic has taught us that the need to take so many flights is not always necessary and therefore, the carbon production has ‘actually’ decreased rather than ignoring the issues by a minor lifestyle temporary change.

The facts are that the electricity that is supplied to everyone in a country from the grid is a cocktail mix of energy sources, both renewable and fossil fuels. For a data center to be operational 24x7x365 the use of the majority of renewables must be supported by a stable supply from elsewhere. There are a few countries, Norway being one example, that have a very high proportion of their generated supply being renewable. However, the benefit of Norway’s hydro power cannot be applied to the Netherlands. We will continue to make improvements towards this nirvana, but I fear this will be a long, slow and drawn-out process.

However, there are ways that the data center industry can become more sustainable. Often it appears that we are stuck in the ‘take, make and waste’ cycle. The manufacturers of IT equipment often mention ‘end of service life’ or a ‘product lifecycle’ which adds nothing to the economy. Take for example your mobile phone. The average life of a mobile phone with a consumer, you and me, is around 22-24 months. Whereas the device is still serviceable for 2.5 times that ‘life’. Where does that product get placed to ‘die’? Burial in landfill, cremated in burn piles or toxic waste plants? How many old smart phones do you have in your home? How do you recycle them? https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/consumer-advice/technology/a566760/smartphone-recycle-scheme-helps-disadvantaged-people/

The life of a server in a data center is around 3-5 years and at the end of that time what happens? Obviously for some the hard drive is destroyed, a few others, 20%, might be repurchased by a few IT recyclers but the majority suffer the same ignominious fate as described above. Out of the 50 million tons of e-waste a year this is still a very small amount, and we can and should do better. It is predicted that by 2025 this will rise to 64 million tons. Whilst the new servers installed are smarter and more efficient to run, this does not escape the fact that the device they are replacing is perceived to have no value or why would it be scrapped?

Everyone likes something in IT to be nice and shiny/new. Is it necessary? An IT rack for example is just as good if they are new or 10years old. There is not much one can improve over a 42RU rack that is 800x1000 manufactured 10 years ago or 6 months ago. Peripherals such as locking, and power distribution strips can always be upgraded as needed or if a smart unit is desired.

To get back to where this discussion started off, carbon off-setting is NOT a destination but a way marker along this journey. With targets being set for Net Zero Carbon in 2030 or 2050 there is the real danger that the proverbial ‘can’ will continued to be kicked down the road with organizations hoping that a miracle cure will appear, or they will get sucked into a variety of ‘snake oil’ schemes.

The sustainability challenges for new build facilities are a far easier option than for the legacy facilities. However, the operations side of the house can make good strides towards net zero and the circular economy, improving their position. The efficiencies are often around air flow management and the release of stranded power within existing systems. Accurate and preferably independent monitoring of what has been installed is vital. Any improvements to PUE will be a side point rather than the main driver.

To sum up, when we talk about a ‘circular economy’ and ‘net zero’, ask yourself, what is the difference between a circle and a zero? Once you are familiar with that concept you can start to understand that one is hand in hand with the other.

Above all, sustainability with data centers starts with you and me. How so? Well how big is your digital footprint, this is related to carbon use and a digital footprint is usually stored in a data center. We cannot get away from the fact that data centers are a part of our life, however, our use and storage of data will have an effect.

You and I need to make strides to improve in our sustainability. Corporations will not do this. Corporations are made up of people, therefore it is us, the people, who need to take charge and invest our time and abilities to solve this.

Do not stop and think that journeys end sits with carbon offsetting, the goal is Zero Carbon. Offsetting only massages your conscience into thinking what you are doing is good, like buying petrol and then paying a small extra sum to offset the carbon. That really is avoiding the issue!

Therefore, preach Zero Carbon professionally AND practice Zero Carbon personally.