Defining a Sustainable Data Future in Ireland

By Garry Connolly, who is the president and founder of Host in Ireland.

The past twelve months have highlighted the need for radical change when it comes to reversing the climate crisis. Even with the world effectively closing down, carbon emissions dipped for a short period of time, but rebounded back quickly. All aspects of our lives from the food we eat to the transportation we use to heating and cooling our homes will play a role in creating long-term sustainable change.

Sustainable Data

That includes the data we consume and the centres that data is housed in. In a recent blog from EATON, Ciaran Forde commented that “data has now moved beyond being the bedrock of industry, and is now – like water and power – an embedded and indispensable factor for modern life.” The digitalisation evolution is changing how the world operates. It also provides a unique opportunity for the data centre ecosystem to accelerate sustainable practices that have a real world impact.

Sustainability is shifting from a nice-to-have to a must-have feature of doing business. ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) is playing a key role in business decisions ranging from venture capitalists making decisions on renewable vs fossil fuel-based investments to companies like Microsoft ensuring their entire supply chain is carbon negative by 2030. Society is now past the advocacy and awareness stage and now is the time for action.

The data centre industry is doing just that. In January, leading cloud infrastructure providers and data centre operators came together and created the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact. More than 30 companies and 20 associations, including Host in Ireland and several of our partners, have agreed to a Self Regulatory Initiative to make data centres in Europe climate neutral by 2030. Targets are being set across energy efficiency, clean energy, water, the circular economy, circular energy systems and governance

This is a good initial step in bringing together the European data centre industry to actively play its part in addressing the serious climate challenges we face as individuals, an industry and society. Even more so when you consider carbon emissions know no borders, making collaboration on a global scale even more important. The commitment of data centre owners, operators and trade associations to work as a whole to achieve these goals provides the strongest foundation for success.

This type of initiative is not just aspirational, but can make a practical difference. Here in Ireland, the EU’s target of 40% annual green electricity generation was achieved in 2020. That is no small feat, and there is certainly much more work to be done, but it does showcase how organisations can come together to make a difference. The renewable electricity generators, the distribution network and consumers – big and small – all aligned to make this happen.

The pressure to achieve greater sustainability will only increase. The Irish government recently came out strongly against fossil fuels by approving a ban on licences for new oil and natural gas exploration to take effect immediately. It makes Ireland the second country in Europe and only the fourth in the world to introduce a definitive national ban through legislation on all fossil fuel exploration.

As the need for more data increases, growth cannot come at the expense of the planet. While our words matter and our promises need to be kept, the actions we take to achieve our carbon reduction targets will matter more than anything else. Doing so in a way that is science-based, cross border, and in collaboration with the industry’s key stakeholders will be essential to its success. Host in Ireland has always believed in the power of the collective, and now more than ever, we all need to play our part in making a more sustainable future.

A #HostinIreland survey with a sample of 50 Irish #DataCentre leaders found 96% are optimistic about business opportunities within the DC and hosting service industry this year ? @GarryConnolly talks about the career opportunities in ??: https://t.co/4oyuqScrWu#EngineersWeek

— Host In Ireland (@hostinireland) March 2, 2021

Garry Connolly is the president and founder of Host in Ireland. Host in Ireland is an award-winning strategic global initiative created to increase awareness of the benefits of hosting digital assets in Ireland as well as Irish companies that are designing, building, and operating data centres globally. 

See more stories here.