The hyperscalers, Digital Realty, and Schneider Electric have signed an open letter asking suppliers to better detail their emissions as they move to reduce the sector's carbon footprint.
Amazon Web Services, Google, Meta, and Microsoft were among the iMasons Climate Accord Governing Body Members that described the importance of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).
EPDs are standardized, third-party-verified documents that report the embodied emissions of a product, and the greenhouse gases produced by product through its entire lifecycle. This includes raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, product use, and product end-of-life.
The companies said that Scope 3 emissions can represent between 38-69 percent of data centers’ total carbon footprint.
“EPDs are crucial in transforming the future of digital infrastructure to be more resilient and climate positive," said Miranda Gardiner, executive director of the iMasons Climate Accord.
"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."
Eric Wilcox, VP of data center engineering at AWS, added: "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.
"We support the iMasons call for suppliers to adopt the use of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). Doing so will provide greater transparency in Scope 3 emissions embodied in equipment and help accelerate the overall industry's efforts to reduce its carbon footprint."
