EDITOR’S QUESTION
HOW IMPORTANT IS
A COLLABORATIVE
APPROACH
TO ENSURING
SUSTAINABILITY IS AT
THE CORE OF THE DATA
CENTRE INDUSTRY?
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
O
n November 11, 2019, BRE Global
announced the release of the
Data Centre Annex Pilot, which
is to be used alongside the BREEAM
New Construction International manual.
Developed with feedback from several
key stakeholders, the annex provides
data centre buildings with the ability to
assess and improve their sustainability
and environmental performance against
the current BREEAM New Construction
International manual for new-build projects
around the world.
“
WE THINK THIS
NEW ANNEX IS
A GREAT STEP
TOWARDS
ENSURING
SUSTAINABILITY
IS AT THE CORE OF
THE INDUSTRY.
34
INTELLIGENTCIO
In 2010, BRE Global released the BREEAM
Data Centres manual for the UK market.
Since then, the industry has seen huge
developments from the approach in terms of
how data centres are used in operation, to
the way they are designed and built.
BRE Global has actively engaged with key
stakeholders in the data centres industry
to ensure the pilot BREEAM Data Centres
criteria annex meets the needs of the
evolving data centre market. Key partners
on this project have included global critical
environment specialist, Keysource, Future-
tech, Operational Intelligence, Carbon3IT
and PTS Consulting.
The annex combines elements of the
EN 50600 series of standards for energy
efficiency with BREEAM’s own holistic
approach to sustainability, covering
issues such as water stewardship, building
management, materials and ecology,
offering new opportunities for data centres
to stand out in the market.
Shamir Ghumra, BREEAM Director, said:
“The pace of change in the world is ever
accelerating and BREEAM is continuously
evolving to help the built environment move
towards a net zero world. Data centres
represent a key part of the global building
portfolio and is one that has shown leadership
in moving towards more sustainable design,
construction and performance. This new
annex to BREEAM will provide this important
asset class with greater assurance on its
sustainability aspirations for investors, clients
and tenants alike.”
Stephen Lorimer, Associate Director at
Keysource, said: “While we are starting to see
a change within the industry, sustainability
and environment factors have generally
taken a back seat when compared to
ensuring availability. This is mirrored by most
of the standards and accreditations currently
available which tend to focus on service
availability and commercial considerations
– whether the design, delivery or ongoing
operations of an environment, rather than
sustainability practices such as the EU Code
of Conduct. We’ve been working closely with
BREEAM for over a year and we think this
new annex is a great step towards ensuring
sustainability is at the core of the industry.”
www.intelligentcio.com