Vantage Data Centers has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2030.
The company this week said it will achieve net zero carbon emissions globally by 2030.
Vantage said it will not only work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but will also invest in technologies and projects that remove carbon from the atmosphere. The company targets both Scope 1 and 2 emissions, as well as reductions that it can guide or influence throughout its supply chain.
“As major consumers of power and land, data center operators have an undeniable responsibility to aggressively reduce emissions and lessen environmental impacts wherever possible. This is why we’ve set our target at net zero rather than carbon neutral,” explained Justin Thomas, CTO of Vantage Data Centers. “Our goal is to be a sustainability leader, and we are setting interim reduction goals that touch every part of our business.”
Vantage is creating interim reduction targets, and promised to develop processes and partnerships to reduce Scope 3 emissions outside of its control, such as emissions associated with customer IT and cooling loads.
Currently four Vantage campuses – Quebec City, Montreal I & II, Canada; and Cardiff, UK – are powered by more than 99 percent renewable energy. Other campuses provide customers access to green power purchases and renewable energy credits through local utilities.
In areas where emissions are unavoidable, Vantage will purchase offsets to fund carbon removal projects and investments in communities where the company operates its data centers.
“Vantage is taking a forward-looking approach to decarbonization by investing in the team, technology and processes needed to actively reduce our carbon footprint across the design, construction and operation of our data center campuses,” said Amanda Sutton, senior director of sustainability, Vantage Data Centers. “Our comprehensive strategy includes everything from the use of renewable energy to water conservation, waste reduction and recycling. We are making a strong commitment to sustainability while also rapidly expanding globally to support our customers’ technological innovations today and into the future.”
A number of cloud and hyperscale companies have set 2030 as a target date to become carbon neutral or at the very least use all renewable energy to power operations. Most recently, Cloudflare announces its intention to become carbon negative and remove its historic carbon by 2025.
“We view implementing Net Zero 2030 as both a business and an ethical imperative for our firm and for all of our portfolio companies,” added Marc Ganzi, CEO of DigitalBridge, one of Vantage’s investors. “We are proud that Vantage is leading from the front and committing to this bold initiative.”