The Green Data Centre Standard in Singapore, or SS 564, is a set of best practice guidelines to help data center providers design sustainable facilities, improve their energy efficiency and avoid wasting water to cool the centers.
Data centers have a huge impact on the environment by consuming more power globally than the whole of Singapore.
As many industries look to be more sustainable, following the standard can be beneficial for organisations by showing their drive to be environmentally friendly.
Data centres can use the standard to track their performance and improvements based on a benchmark of metrics.
The standard, modelled after the ISO 50001, provides a framework and a Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology to encourage continuous process improvement.
Firms including Equinix, IBM, Keppel Data Centers and Resorts World Sentosa have all achieved a SS 564 certification for their effort to meet the green standards.
The Green Data Centre Standard was published in 2011 by the IT Standards Committee, Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore and SPRING Singapore. The Green DC Standards Working Group under the industry-led Information Technology Standards Committee formed to develop the standard.
What are the benefits of the Green Data Centre Standard?
Following the recommendations set by the Green Data Centre Standards to optimise your systems can help lower operational costs and energy spend by 30%.
By reducing carbon emissions, data center providers could also avoid the Singapore carbon tax set at a rate of $5 for every tonne of greenhouse gas emitted.
By doing your part to be sustainable and tackle climate change, customers may be more interested in doing business with you, particularly if they have policies to only work with other environmentally conscious organisations.
Why is the Green Data Centre Standard important?
On top of the benefits to your business, it is important to remember that data centers are one of the biggest culprits of producing excessive carbon emissions with 2% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions.
A huge 7% of all electricity consumed in Singapore comes from data centers. And this figure will likely rise, as more pressure is put on data centers to meet the demands of increasing Internet and digital application usage.
Many data centers can waste energy by operating a higher power load than what is needed. But organisations in Singapore are moving towards greater sustainability by innovating environmentally friendly solutions, including using solar energy, cooling facilities with natural airflows and designing data centers that float on water.
