Asia-Pacific Data Centre Association pushes for stronger sustainability frameworks
The white paper highlights best practices to improve power performance throughout the data centre lifecycle– from spot option, design and building and construction to operations and tracking. It also suggests policy steps to increase access to clean and renewable energy with stronger grid infrastructure and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).
Driven by cloud adoption, digital services and artificial intelligence (AI), regional need for data hubs is projected to expand close to 20% each year through 2028. The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that Southeast Asia’s information centre electricity use will almost double by 2030 contrasted to 2024– a trend mirrored across the wider APAC area.
The APDCA participants include leading global providers, such as AirTrunk, Equinix, Digital Realty, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, and Princeton Digital Group.
Among the examples mentioned is Singapore’s BCA-IMDA Green Mark for Data Centres (GMDC)– a certification system jointly created by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) to recognise data hubs with strong sustainability functionality and energy-efficient strategies.
Developers are urged to collaborate carefully with regulators and market partners to develop consistent power efficiency standards across the APAC markets.
The Asia-Pacific Data Centre Association (APDCA) has actually started a new white paper calling for tougher regulation and market partnership to boost energy sustainability throughout data centres in the area.
Titled Data Centres and Energy Sustainability: A Regional Perspective on Best Practices and Policy Frameworks, the paper was published on Oct 27 and lays out strategies to reduce the environmental effect of data centers whilst fulfilling the rising need for electronic framework in Asia-Pacific (APAC).
” Balancing power sustainability with the rising need for digital infrastructure is just one of APAC’s defining challenges,” states Jeremy Deutsch, chair of APDCA. “With the right policy frameworks, Asia-Pacific governments can guarantee that electronic improvement developments hand in hand with net-zero ambitions.”
