EPDs suggested, as the digital infrastructure industry looks to tackle spiralling emissions

A group of Big Tech companies have called for greater transparency around Scope 3 emissions within the digital infrastructure industry. They have led calls for suppliers serving data centres to support transparency around Scope 3 emissions, as the sector tries to reduce its carbon footprint.

In an open letter, the iMasons Climate Accord (ICA) Governing Body, consisting of AWS, Digital Realty, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Schneider Electric have suggested use of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) amid the rapidly growing demand on data centres. The ICA members have stressed that EPDs hold the potential to improve transparency in Scope 3 emissions reporting, given these are standardised, third party verified documents reporting the embodied emissions of a product.

Miranda Gardiner, Executive Director of the iMasons Climate Accord explained:

“EPDs are crucial in transforming the future of digital infrastructure to be more resilient and climate positive. The adoption of EPDs within the global supply chain fosters both sustainable and accountable outcomes. As standardized and verified data provides a layer of transparency, this initiative supports a collective approach to reducing our carbon emissions and environmental footprints,”[i]

EPDs go as far as to outline the greenhouse gas emissions of a product through its entire lifecycle, from the raw materials in the product (including how they are extracted, transported, and processed), to manufacturing, transportation, product use, and product end-of-life (for example landfill, recycling, or repurposing). With the ICA finding that anywhere between 38-69% of a data centre’s carbon footprint stems from Scope 3 emissions, addressing and reducing this is critical if companies are to meet their net zero obligations.

This energy-intensive sector is a notable contributor to global emissions- since 2010 global internet traffic has expanded 25-fold and the number of internet users has more than doubled, it means that even with major improvements in energy efficiency, data centres and data transmission networks each account for 1-1.5% of global electricity use[ii].

With more data centres set to come online to meet growing demand (of which AI [Artificial Intelligence] is an increasing contributor) the challenge in cutting emissions becomes more urgent, especially considering that all signatories of the ICA’s letter have made net zero emissions commitments.

Eric Wilcox, Vice President of Data Centre Engineering at AWS said:

“At AWS, we are committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions across our operations by 2040 by investing in carbon-free energy, scaling solutions, and collaborating with partners to broaden our impact,”

Wilcox added that:

“We support the iMasons call for all suppliers to adopt the use of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to accelerate these efforts. By doing so it will provide greater transparency in Scope 3 emissions embodied in equipment and help accelerate the overall industry’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.”[iii]

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And Shirin O’Connor, CVP, Datacenter Engineering, Procurement & Construction at Microsoft said:

“Microsoft has committed to becoming carbon negative by 2030 and removing all greenhouse gas emissions produced since our founding by 2050. By joining our peers in promoting sustainability and using digital innovation to drive progress, Microsoft is helping to create a more sustainable future for all,”[iv]

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References

[i] AWS, Digital Realty, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Schneider Electric Call for Supplier Action to Help Decarbonize Digital Infrastructure – iMasons Climate Accord

[ii] Data centres & networks - IEA

[iii] AWS, Digital Realty, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Schneider Electric Call for Supplier Action to Help Decarbonize Digital Infrastructure – iMasons Climate Accord

[iv] Ibid