Traceability System Looks to Improve Carbon Footprint, Efficiency of Data Centers

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A material traceability system from Aligned Data Centers will provide a transparent look at an operation’s carbon footprint by tracing the lifecycle of data center equipment as well as identifying material recovery and recycling options.

With the company’s OriginMark platform a company’s carbon data is computed using information from several sources, including an uninterruptible power supply, data centers or operations across multiple locations. Aligned says using the system, which is part of its Insight platform, will help companies identify embodied carbon and manage the possible circularity of their products, including with generators, power distribution units and other components of data center construction and operation.

Aligned says by viewing enhanced material traceability across its data center campuses it will be able to combine carbon footprint data with energy efficiency and renewable energy options. The technology can be used during new construction or the expansion of existing infrastructure.

Data centers are high energy- and water users and as they become more important to growing technology implementation, operators are increasingly looking to make them more sustainable. According to the International Energy Agency, data centers produce nearly .3% of the world’s total emissions.

More operations are attempting to address data center efficiency; this week, for example, Equinix issued $1.2 billion in green bonds to continue building the sustainability of its operations. Part of Equinix’s plan is to start reducing emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 as well as implementing fuel cells and liquid cooling among other data center efficiency targets.

Traceability is also becoming an integral part of sustainability across businesses and organizations such as Planet Tracker say the systems are becoming a must for investors and companies alike. Cloud-based systems are helping high tech operations with energy efficiency and companies like Adidas are using systems that can track their material production throughout their supply chains.

Aligned says its new platform will enhance a circular approach to material production and use, and will improve operation efficiencies and sustainability of its infrastructure, thus increasing a transition to zero carbon operations. The company provides adaptive scale data centers and build-to-scale platforms.