Carbon Usage Effectiveness (CUE)

As the data center industry evolves its thinking about sustainability to consider environmental impact more holistically, metrics like Carbon Usage Effectiveness (CUE) are becoming increasingly important. Defined by the Green Grid, CUE is a measure of a facility’s total carbon emissions relative to the energy consumed by its IT equipment.

By capturing the carbon intensity of a data center’s energy sources, CUE provides a more comprehensive view of carbon footprint than power-centric metrics like power usage effectiveness (PUE) alone. As data center operators work to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in line with ambitious industry-wide targets, CUE will be a key tool for tracking progress and identifying opportunities for improvement.