With growing consciousness surrounding sustainability, the data center industry is also carefully calibrating its next steps vis-a-vis developing energy-efficient digital infrastructure; “green” data centers are no longer an option, but the mandate.
A sustainable data center is a facility that incorporates prudent water and power use practices, low-emission construction materials, energy efficient cooling and waste management systems, as well as responsible computing practices and virtualization, to ensure that the overall carbon footprint of the data center remains as low and possible without adversely impacting its productivity.
Planning a sustainable data center
Building a sustainable or “green” data center requires a different approach to the entire planning and design process.
“Sustainability cannot be treated as an add-on at the operational stage; it must be embedded from the very conception of the project,” says Syed Mohamed Beary, Founder and CMD, Bearys Group, a company that has designed, built and delivered data centers for several international data center providers in India. “Site selection is evaluated not just from connectivity and power availability perspectives, but also climate suitability, water availability, renewable energy access and environmental impact. Building orientation, thermal performance, material selection, daylight optimization, embodied carbon and future scalability are all considered together,” adds Beary who is also Chairman, Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), Bangalore Chapter.
Elisabetta Baronio, Director– ESG Program Management, Khazna Data Centers concurs. “If sustainability is treated as an ‘add-on’, you usually miss the biggest levers,” she says. “The goal is to avoid lock-in. Once core power and cooling architectures, supply chain choices, and commissioning plans are set, it’s harder and costlier to improve outcomes later.”
Beary adds, “In conventional construction, the focus is often on CAPEX and speed of delivery. In sustainable construction, lifecycle efficiency becomes equally important.”
Overcoming geographical challenges
While colder climates help reduce cooling resources and power consumption, these days data centers, even humongous AI factories are being built in tropical, and even arid environments. So how do developers overcome these challenges?
“The region’s heat and humidity increase cooling demand, and water scarcity makes water stewardship a priority,” admits Baronio, whose company builds data centers in the Middle East where temperatures routinely shoot past the 45℃. “Supply chains can also vary in maturity for low-carbon materials, certified waste streams, and consistent ESG data.” But Khazna chooses to focus on elements they can control, such as thermal performance, prioritizing efficient cooling strategies, and building systems that support strong energy and water management once operational. “On the construction side, we work closely with partners to standardize methods, reduce rework, and improve material efficiency.”
Similarly in a tropical country like India there are challenges pertaining to heat management, water and power availability. Beary elaborates, “Some of the major challenges include inconsistent availability of green materials, higher upfront costs for advanced sustainable technologies, limited awareness across parts of the supply chain, and infrastructure constraints such as water stress and grid dependency. In many cases, developers also face pressure to deliver projects rapidly, which can discourage long-term sustainability thinking.” But he shed light on how to persevere despite such odds, saying, “These challenges can be overcome through integrated planning and strong stakeholder alignment. Involving sustainability consultants, architects, MEP engineers, and operators together from the early design stage, significantly improves outcomes. Vendor selection also becomes critical, choosing partners who understand lifecycle performance rather than only initial cost.”
The decarbonization challenge
Governments across the world are gearing up to meet an ambitious goal: Net Zero by 2050. This is in line with the findings and recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). However, keeping a data center’s carbon footprint low is much harder than what one would expect.
Yet, developers are taking the bull by its horns, employing methods like using supplementary cementitious materials, recycled steel, modular construction techniques and energy-efficient mechanical systems. “Realistic goals include reducing embodied carbon in construction materials, improving energy efficiency, maximizing renewable energy adoption, optimizing cooling systems, reducing water dependency and increasing circularity in resource usage,” says Beary.
Baronio is also a fan of practical goal setting. “Practical goals include reducing embodied carbon through smarter material choices and efficient design, minimizing waste through circularity and certified diversion pathways, and designing for energy performance and upgradeability so the facility can take advantage of cleaner power as it becomes available,” she says listing elements of Khazna’s decarbonization strategy.
Impact of intelligent construction on operational sustainability
Operational sustainability is directly influenced by the thought that goes into construction. The quality of design and construction determines how efficiently the facility will perform throughout its life. It also helps maintain healthy PUE and WUE during the facility’s life cycle.
“Smart sensor integration and Building Management Systems incorporated during construction enable real-time monitoring and predictive optimization later. Similarly, water-efficient plumbing infrastructure, rainwater harvesting systems, treated water reuse systems and efficient drainage planning all contribute to lower WUE performance during operations,” explains Beary.
Baronio elaborates, “At the construction stage, intelligent construction links design intent to real-world performance by reducing variability and ensuring systems are installed, tested, and commissioned exactly as intended. That starts with quality control and digital oversight, so operations teams inherit a facility that performs predictably from day one.” She adds, “It also includes designing and building for maintainability and measurement: placing sensors and metering where they matter, creating accessible routes for maintenance, and ensuring control systems are tuned and validated during commissioning.”
Beary agrees. “Intelligent construction creates the foundation upon which operational efficiency becomes achievable and scalable,” he says. “For example, optimized building envelopes reduce thermal gain and cooling loads. Efficient airflow planning during construction improves cooling performance and lowers energy consumption.” A fan of modular construction, Beary also says, “Structural planning for modular expansion prevents unnecessary future demolition and material wastage.”
Conclusion
In the age of AI, where we are all basically playing a catch-up game, perhaps it is important to press pause… step back and look at the bigger picture – what’s the point of building something that won’t last? A well thought-through sustainable construction strategy, that comes into play even before the facility comes together on a drawing board, will go a long way in keeping it running in an environmentally friendly manner for years to come.
*** This piece first appeared in Issue 13 of w.media’s Cloud & Datacenters magazine and may be read on pages 12-13 by clicking the image below:
