iMasons Climate Accord Governing Body Members
Sign Open Letter Outlining Importance of Environmental Product
Declarations (EPDs) Amid Rapid Growth of Data Centers
- Leading digital infrastructure companies call for industry
adoption of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to accelerate
net-zero ambitions
- Scope 3 emissions make up large percentage of hyperscale
and data center carbon emissions
- Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) detail the greenhouse
gas emissions of infrastructure products through their entire
lifecycle
BEAVERTON, Ore., July 16,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Governing Body of
the iMasons Climate Accord, a program of Infrastructure
Masons, is calling on all suppliers serving data centers to support
greater transparency in Scope 3 emissions as part of broader
efforts to reduce the industry's carbon footprint.
Digital infrastructure companies call for
adoption of Environmental Product Declarations to accelerate
net-zero goals.
Consisting of AWS, Digital Realty, Google, Meta, Microsoft and
Schneider Electric, the Governing Body released an open letter
today that explains the importance of widespread adoption of
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), which are standardized,
third party-verified documents reporting the embodied emissions of
a product. EPDs outline the greenhouse gas emissions of a product
through its entire lifecycle, from the raw materials in the product
(e.g., how they are extracted, transported, and processed), to
manufacturing, transportation, product use, and product end-of-life
(e.g., landfill, recycling, repurposing, etc.).
While an increasing number of local, state, and federal
procurement policies request EPDs across multiple industries, there
is not widespread adoption of EPDs in the data center. The open
letter demonstrates a significant push forward from the world's
largest hyperscalers and digital infrastructure companies to drive
meaningful change across the industry, working in partnership with
their trusted suppliers.
It is essential to continue to ensure the digital infrastructure
industry decarbonizes as it grows. The signatories of the iMasons
Governing Body's open letter all have net-zero carbon emissions
commitments in place to address their responsibility in mitigating
data center carbon emissions (with deadlines ranging from 2025 to
2040, which is at least 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement), and
this letter marks another milestone toward decarbonizing of
operations.
Hyperscalers have implemented strategies to reduce and/or
mitigate Scope 1 and 2 emissions. As they seek to reach net-zero
carbon emissions in the coming years, the next piece of the
sustainability puzzle lies in reducing Scope 3 emissions, which can
represent anywhere from 38-69% of data centers' total carbon
footprint. Scope 3 emissions are not produced by the company
itself; rather, they include the indirect emissions throughout the
value chain.
Access to the critical information in EPDs empowers data center
owners, operators, and end-users to effectively calculate their
environmental impact and choose products (servers, cooling systems,
uninterruptible power supplies [UPS]) and services based on lower
Scope 3 emissions, best aligning with sustainability targets. With
the 250+-member iMasons Climate Accord representing an $8 trillion combined market cap, widespread
adoption of EPDs is likely to have a profound impact on reducing
global data center carbon emissions.
"EPDs are crucial in transforming the future of digital
infrastructure to be more resilient and climate positive. The
adoption of EPDs within the global supply chain fosters both
sustainable and accountable outcomes. As standardized and verified
data provides a layer of transparency, this initiative supports a
collective approach to reducing our carbon emissions and
environmental footprints," said Miranda
Gardiner, Executive Director of the iMasons Climate
Accord.
"At AWS, we are committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions
across our operations by 2040 by investing in carbon-free energy,
scaling solutions, and collaborating with partners to broaden our
impact," said Eric Wilcox, Vice
President of Data Center Engineering at AWS. "We support the
iMasons call for all suppliers to adopt the use of Environmental
Product Declarations (EPDs) to accelerate these efforts. By doing
so it will provide greater transparency in Scope 3 emissions
embodied in equipment and help accelerate the overall industry's
efforts to reduce its carbon footprint."
"As leaders in the digital infrastructure sector, we recognize
the urgent need to address all facets of our carbon footprint,
particularly Scope 3 emissions which constitute a significant
portion of our environmental impact," said Lex Coors, Chief Data Center Technology &
Engineering Officer for Digital Realty and Infrastructure Masons
Governing Body member. "By advocating for the adoption of EPDs, we
are not just committing to transparency; we are taking a decisive
step towards empowering the entire industry to make informed,
responsible choices that align with our collective sustainability
ambitions. This initiative is crucial as we strive to meet the
growing demands of our digital world in a sustainable and
accountable manner."
"In line with our commitment to open standards and our
company-wide goal to achieve net-zero emissions across all our
operations and value chain, we support industry-wide adoption of
Environmental Product Declarations as a crucial lever in low-carbon
procurement of digital infrastructure," said Joe Kava, Vice President, Global Data Centers,
Google. "As a member of the Governing Board of iMasons Climate
Accord, Google is excited to help accelerate solutions that drive
progress toward a more sustainable, transparent data center
industry."
"Reducing our emissions is Meta's top priority to reach net zero
emissions across our value chain in 2030. We join our peers in
calling for greater transparency in the data center supply chain to
better understand the embodied carbon of the infrastructure that
underpins our operations. These declarations will play an important
role in accelerating decarbonization efforts for the data centers
of tomorrow," said Rachel Peterson,
VP, Infrastructure Data Centers at Meta.
"Microsoft has committed to becoming carbon negative by 2030 and
removing all greenhouse gas emissions produced since our founding
by 2050. By joining our peers in promoting sustainability and using
digital innovation to drive progress, Microsoft is helping to
create a more sustainable future for all," said Shirin O'Connor, CVP, Datacenter Engineering,
Procurement & Construction, Microsoft.
"To enable the digital infrastructure industry to align with
net-zero emissions goals, carbon emissions must be a fundamental
consideration in procurement decisions," said iMasons Governing
Body Member Anna Timme, who is also the Head of Sustainability for
Secure Power and Data Centers at Schneider Electric. "Promoting
industry-wide adoption of EPDs is a critical step in enabling
carbon-informed decision making. Schneider Electric has been
dedicated to publishing EPDs since 2008, and we are excited about
the significant impact that industry adoption will have as we
collectively progress toward Net-Zero."
The open letter is the second issued by the ICA calling for
action from suppliers to accelerate decarbonization efforts. In
April 2023, the Governing Body of the
ICA called on data center industry suppliers to use lower-carbon
concrete in data center infrastructure.
About the iMasons Climate Accord
The iMasons Climate Accord is a coalition united on carbon
reduction in digital infrastructure. Launched by the Infrastructure
Masons in 2022, the organization has mobilized a community of 250+
members spanning data centers, networks, cloud computing, energy,
and cybersecurity. The Climate Accord Governing Body includes AWS,
Digital Realty, Google, iMasons, Meta, Microsoft, and Schneider
Electric. Members are working toward industry-wide adoption of an
open standard to report carbon power, materials, and equipment to
create a common maturity model to report progress. For more
information, visit climateaccord.org or LinkedIn.
About Infrastructure Masons
Infrastructure Masons (iMasons) is a non-profit, professional
association of technology and business leaders who represent over
$150Bn in infrastructure projects in
over 130 countries. The organization is guided by an Advisory
Council composed of global leaders who manage some of the largest
digital infrastructure portfolios in the world. The iMasons vision
is to Unite the Builders of the Digital Age by enabling our global
membership to Connect, Grow, and Give Back. Members leave their
companies at the door and connect as individuals. iMasons has four
strategic industry priorities – increase Awareness, enhance
Education opportunities, champion Diversity & Inclusion, and
inspire Sustainability through deep member engagement. Visit the
website at imasons.org or LinkedIn.
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SOURCE Infrastructure Masons