In 2019, there’s a lot of pressure placed on businesses of all kinds to go green. Not only can doing so reduce your environmental impact, but it can also improve brand perception and cut costs. There are ample reasons to make the shift to sustainability, but does your organization know how to go about doing it? If your company relies on data center servers to provide essential services, you’ll want to consider the following tips to make your practices more eco-friendly.
Use Sustainable Materials and Designs
According to United Nations estimates global e-waste output was primed to reach 50 million metric tons last year. That translates to a lot of data center equipment that could end up polluting the earth every year. If you want to reduce your environmental impact, you should think carefully about the materials you choose for your data center. Using recycled plastics, for example, or emphasizing the importance of repair and recycling programs can make a big difference. If your goal is to go green, the best place to start is the center itself. Therefore, you might also want to consider using modular data centers. These types of data centers are extremely flexible and scalable, meaning they can be easily amended or transported as the needs of your business evolve. They’re also more energy efficient, cost less to make, and can be produced more quickly than other options. And because they’re perfectly suited to support other green initiatives, this will make it easier for you to utilize eco-friendly practices in all areas of your business.
Opt for Renewable Energy
Data centers require a lot of energy. In fact, most data centers need backup generators to ensure they can still run in case of an outage. Traditionally, these backup generators would run on diesel fuel. But given the fact that these generators are constantly running, that means data centers have directly caused significant air pollution. But by switching the energy source for these generators from diesel fuel to a renewable solution — like solar panels or wind turbines, for example — your business can decrease your carbon footprint without sacrificing on efficiency. Apple and Facebook already run their data centers completely on renewable energy, so there’s a precedent that the concept can work well. Even if your data center can’t switch completely to renewable energy all at once, taking small steps to do so can have a big effect on your bottom line and on your overall sustainability.
Embrace Green Cooling Solutions
In years past, data centers expended significant energy due to traditional cooling options. Air cooling used to be the standard option, but it came with a lot of undesirable effects — including excessive sound and significant energy consumption. Noise pollution and air pollution are two major problems, both of which can be solved by the use of immersion cooling. Liquid immersion is considered the top choice for green cooling solutions, as it can save up to 99% of electricity compared to traditional data center cooling. It’s also essentially silent, meaning that there’s no health and safety risk posed to workers, and it’s overall far more consistent than other cooling options available today. If you want to switch to more sustainable practices, green cooling solutions are a must for your data center.
Businesses that rely on data centers for daily operations need to consider their bottom line and their public perception. Going green is one of the most effective ways to ensure positive press and lower costs, all while establishing a philosophy of humanitarianism. To learn more about how our green cooling solutions can support your goals, please contact us today.
