Consisting of AWS, Digital Realty, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Schneider Electric, the Governing Body released an open letter today that explains the importance of widespread adoption of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), which are standardized, third-party-verified documents reporting the embodied emissions of a product. EPDs outline the greenhouse gas emissions of a product through its entire lifecycle, from the raw materials in the product (e.g., how they are extracted, transported, and processed), to manufacturing, transportation, product use, and product end-of-life (e.g., landfill, recycling, repurposing, etc.).
While EPDs are common in some business sectors, there is no widespread adoption of EPDs in the data center industry. The open letter demonstrates a significant push forward from the world's largest hyperscalers and digital infrastructure companies to drive meaningful change across the industry, working in partnership with their trusted suppliers.
It is essential to continue to ensure the digital infrastructure industry decarbonizes as it grows. The signatories of the iMasons Governing Body's open letter all have net-zero carbon emissions commitments in place to address their responsibility in mitigating data center carbon emissions (with deadlines ranging from 2025 to 2040, which is at least 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement), and this letter marks another milestone toward decarbonizing of operations.
Hyperscalers have implemented strategies to reduce and/or mitigate Scope 1 and 2 emissions. As they seek to reach net-zero carbon emissions in the coming years, solving the next piece of the sustainability puzzle lies in reducing Scope 3 emissions, which can represent anywhere from 38-69% of data centers' total carbon footprint. Scope 3 emissions are not produced by the company itself; rather, they include the indirect emissions throughout the value chain.
Access to the critical information in EPDs empowers data center owners, operators, and end-users to effectively calculate their environmental impact and choose products (servers, cooling systems, uninterruptible power supplies [UPS]) and services based on lower Scope 3 emissions, best aligning with sustainability targets.
The open letter is the second issued by the ICA calling for action from suppliers to accelerate decarbonization efforts. In April 2023, the Governing Body of the ICA called on data center industry suppliers to use lower-carbon concrete in data center infrastructure.
iMasons Climate Accord
The iMasons Climate Accord is a coalition united on carbon reduction in digital infrastructure. Launched by the Infrastructure Masons in 2022, the organization has mobilized a community of 250+ members spanning data centers, networks, cloud computing, energy, and cybersecurity. The Climate Accord Governing Body includes AWS, Digital Realty, Google, iMasons, Meta, Microsoft, and Schneider Electric. Members are working toward industry-wide adoption of an open standard to report carbon power, materials, and equipment to create a common maturity model to report progress. For more information, visit climateaccord.org or LinkedIn.
Infrastructure Masons
Infrastructure Masons (iMasons) is a non-profit, professional association of technology and business leaders who represent over $150Bn in infrastructure projects in over 130 countries. The organization is guided by an Advisory Council composed of global leaders who manage some of the largest digital infrastructure portfolios in the world. The iMasons vision is to Unite the Builders of the Digital Age by enabling our global membership to Connect, Grow, and Give Back. Members leave their companies at the door and connect as individuals. iMasons has four strategic industry priorities – increase Awareness, enhance Education opportunities, champion Diversity & Inclusion, and inspire Sustainability through deep member engagement. Visit the website at imasons.org or LinkedIn.
