Dr Beth Whitehead
Sustainability Consultant, Operational IntelligenceBeth’s main experience is in life cycle assessment with particular reference to data centres and the components housed within them. She has growing knowledge in sustainability reporting, net zero carbon (NZC) and NZC commitments for SMEs.
She is involved in researching the environmental impact of data centres and as part of an international cross-industry team was awarded EU Interreg funding to address the growth in e-waste arising from data centres. The project, called CEDaCI (Circular Economy for the Data Centre Industry), aims to reduce waste, conserve resources and build a secure supply chain for Critical Raw Materials in NWE by designing CE-fit products, developing business strategies for equipment reuse, improving materials recycling and reclamation technologies, and changing user behaviour. Partnering with team members in France, she was integral to building the LCA models for servers and switches. Her previous research includes the impact of water vs air in the operation of data centre cooling technologies; and the application of a life cycle approach to data centre sustainability.
Further to her research activities, she has been involved in the development of the EU Green Public Procurement (GPP) Criteria for Data Centres; BSI 50600-99-2: Information technology - Data centre facilities and infrastructures - Part 99-2- Recommended practices for environmental sustainability; and completed a PhD on the life cycle environmental impact of data centres.
Beth has also been involved in energy and risk reduction workshops and assessments with OI. She has a multidisciplinary knowledge of buildings (from her PhD and previous role as a structural engineer) and has worked with operations teams to understand their use of energy in the data centre.
