Carbon-Focused Data Center Design

The increasing focus on sustainability beyond power usage effectiveness (PUE) has driven us to consider the carbon footprint of our data center design.

In addition to supporting the high density data center required by AI workloads, direct liquid cooling (DLC) to the rack is also more sustainable—with reduced data center greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By reducing the amount of energy required and opening more opportunities for economization, liquid cooling to the rack reduces Scope 2 data center emissions (indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity). By reducing the amount of MEP infrastructure required, liquid cooling to the rack reduces Scope 3 data center emissions (indirect GHG emissions associated with the value chain; essentially, embedded carbon).

It’s no doubt that our understanding of a data center’s environmental impact will continue to evolve. Still, we must take action to mitigate our environmental impact, and we must work together to do that. At Stream, in alignment with our guiding principles, we’re committed to supporting our customers’ climate action goals, and to working with our partners and even our competitors to advance our understanding of how best to mitigate the environmental impact of the data center across the value chain.

Our tenants have some of the most forward-thinking, ambitious sustainability goals of anyone, and our data centers have had efficiency baked in right from the start—even before sustainability was our industry’s leading motivator. Our land analysis and feasibility assessments have helped us build advantages from the ground up and keep us mindful from a biodiversity standpoint. Plus, our redevelopment projects help us shave off unnecessary carbon emissions wherever possible. We’re quite practiced at reporting on waste, water, emissions and energy already—now we’re pushing even farther.