Green Mountain released its inaugural Sustainability Report.
The report covers seven focus areas within environmental, social, and governance (ESG): energy, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, waste, water, and biodiversity, social responsibility, and governance. Each focus area has a defined overall objective supplemented by several targets. In the report, Green Mountain outlines the progress toward. these targets as well as next steps.
In brief, Green Mountain delivers top scores on the most significant sustainability parameters of a data center, including the following.
- All data centers operating on 100% renewable power.
- PUE below 1.2 (Global industry average is 1.59).
- Scope 1 and 2 carbon footprint of 3.24 grams CO₂e/kWh (significantly lower than industry average).
- Pilot projects on heat-reuse.
The results are industry leading, but the company has identified several areas where they can take action to drive closer to net-zero. These areas include a stronger focus on preventing leakage of F-gases and becoming independent of fossil fuels for emergency power.
“Our own emissions are very low, but it is still a challenge to bring them down to zero,” Torkild Follaug, sustainability manager at Green Mountain. “We will continue to work systematically to reach our goals and be transparent toward our stakeholders on our progress.”
“For many years I believed a sustainability report was unnecessary, as we have always worked with a vision of setting the green standard in the industry,” said Tor Kristian Gyland, CEO of Green Mountain. “However, our clients and stakeholders demand more transparency in what we are doing and what our next goals are. This will also make it easier to hold us accountable.”
