Sustainability Became Unsustainable. How Do We Fix It?

Corporate sustainability across social, environmental and economic categories.

In our industry, change comes at you fast. Constant innovations, explosions of new requirements and rapidly growing footprints are the norm.  

Because of this velocity, we’ve become accustomed to speed always equaling success. But is that really the case?  

I have been developing and implementing sustainability programs for almost twenty years, and a motto that always proves true is one coined by the Navy SEALs: “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”  

Data centers are a precision business, and we’re charged with meticulous adherence to set standards and, in some situations, the creation of new standards.  

But when sustainability requirements initially hit the data center industry without the typical level of standardization in place, many felt the pressure to react with breakneck speed. Companies established aggressive goals trying to get ahead of customers and competitors without understanding the impacts they might have on the business. Organizations with this ‘arms race’ approach fixated on global implementation without stopping to ensure that sustainability processes and documentation met the same rigorous standards our industry expected, creating tension and chaos for their teams.  

As a result, it did not take long before we saw companies backtrack on commitments made only a few years earlier.  

Without taking time to understand what sustainability really means and how to address its full scope with intentionality, organizations felt competitive pressure to cut corners, hurting the reputation and performance of their business while undermining the main objective: to implement measures that improve efficiency and emphasize being a good employer and neighbor.   

This is where ‘slow is smooth, smooth is fast’ becomes key. A focus on strong governance, strategic planning and effective communication and training helps businesses be readily responsive to sustainability and industry changes while maintaining precision and alignment with core values. 

The Form Factors of Sustainability 

For sustainability to maximize value for a business and its wider community, it should be viewed as an ecosystem that intersects across environmental, social and economic aspects.  

Creating environmental innovation without investing in your people, establishing profit advantages without prioritizing material and resource efficiencies or strategizing for the industry’s future without tapping into diverse thought and experience is like trying to sprint through a marathon. You may see some immediate gains, but the benefits will be short-lived and hurt your performance in the long run.  

Here’s the key takeaway:  

Credible sustainability strategies take a long-term view on business decisions across environmental, social and governance elements, creating processes that support strong transparency, accountability and continuous improvement. This creates value by mitigating risk, increasing resiliency and positioning the business to quickly (but thoughtfully) take advantage of opportunities. 

At Stream, we’ve taken time to understand the intrinsic connections between people, planet, processes and profit, and this ‘smooth is fast’ approach helps us couple high performance with endurance. It’s an approach to sustainability that’s… well, sustainable. 

Being Comprehensive Matters  

In sustainability, tracking risks and opportunities while taking time to build a complete framework of due diligence is vital for long-term success.  

Here’s what our roadmap looks like today: 

Environmental

This is the fan-favorite section. For data centers, there’s a good reason for that. We are a resource-intensive industry and need to focus on optimizing efficiency and minimizing negative environmental impacts.  

At Stream, we have started with prioritizing sustainable building design and development and greenhouse gas management. This year, we are focused on the following: 

• Identifying and tracking key environmental concerns during site selection and creating processes to incorporate considerations into design and construction 

• Improving the measurement and verification of sustainable data center development  

• Continued monitoring and improvement of operational data center performance related to energy, water, waste and GHG emissions 

• Developing a GHG Management Policy and continuing to monitor and manage scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions for all sites 

To maximize value and impact, sustainability must be a priority for a project from day one. Stream accomplishes this by setting clear goals and expectations for all developments. This starts with our strategic site selection and development experts identifying the environmental risks and opportunities (including risks from climate change) and working with the design team to incorporate solutions into the site and building design.  

We’re happy to say that Stream’s standard facility design was developed to efficiently use resources with an emphasis on material management, energy efficiency and low water use. Still, we’re continuing to put forward new innovations (like a fully integrated direct liquid cooling offering) to future proof our designs and incorporate new technologies with increased efficiency.  

Social 

At Stream, it is not just about what we build but how and why we do it. While we’re delivering critical digital infrastructure resources that support economic development and day-to-day digital necessities, it’s important to us that we do that work mindfully as an ethical employer and community partner.  

Internally, this means investing in our people — who we know are our greatest asset.  

Creating a safe and thriving workforce requires continuous investment and open communication. In 2025, we are building on our existing programs to continue focusing on the health and safety of our teams and attracting and retaining top talent. In 2025, we are focusing on the following: 

• Continuing to evaluate and update our safety programs  

• Enhancing our employee safety communication, training and initiative programs 

• Creating more employee opportunities to grow personally and professionally through workplace learning and employee resource groups 

• Championing individual and diverse perspectives and belonging 

• Partnering with local community resources to create data center-focused training and curriculum to promote workforce development 

• Continuing to encourage employee volunteer activities within the communities where we operate 

Whether through talent attraction, inclusivity and education or through establishing more comprehensive safety measures, we know that securing the future of our work means taking care of what matters most: people and community. Keeping them supported is as important as keeping our critical infrastructure secure.  

Governance 

Experience developing and implementing these programs in multiple high-impact sectors has shown me that strong and effective governance can make or break the effectiveness of not only a sustainability program, but a business.  

Good governance requires a business to clearly outline expectations, roles and responsibilities and put processes in place to create transparency, accountability and consistency. Without the right leadership commitment and processes, sustainability efforts will never move past ad hoc initiatives focused on minor gains in efficiency toward an integrated, proactive strategy that drives long-term business value.   

As an organization, Stream has always looked to expand and strengthen our ability to effectively find and manage risks while capitalizing on opportunities through ethical leadership, transparency and accountability. 

Aligning these goals and practices with sustainability means: 

• Providing cross-functional oversight and accountability to integrate sustainability priorities into the overarching business strategy   

• Proactively engaging leadership to prioritize and progress sustainability initiatives 

• Efficiently implementing our risk management program to address threats, vulnerabilities and requirements 

• Measuring, managing and reporting our progress to stakeholders annually 

That last point about measurement and reporting is central to all of this, and it brings us to where we are now. Since putting out our first Sustainability Report, we have continued to build relationships with our key stakeholders to implement sustainability initiatives in a meaningful and comprehensive way. 

We might be tempted to think the worst thing you can be in this industry is slow, but the worst thing you can be as a data center professional and sustainability champion is hasty.  

Overall, for the sustainability of our industry and our collective future, we think it’s time we all started preparing for a marathon and not a sprint.  

No time spent on fully understanding, analyzing and planning for success is ever wasted, and as the SEALs prove, it often helps you achieve your goals more efficiently in the end. We trust their judgement, so we try to use our judgement in a way our employees, partners, customers and communities can trust too.  

To get an in-depth look at Stream’s vision for sustainability, don’t miss our report.