This presentation explores the significance of green data centres for development by delving into the opportunities and challenges of establishing and operating such centres.

1. The Significance of Green Data Centres for Development
A Course Project by
Abdulghany Mohamed
for
Data for Better Lives: A New Social Contract
A MOOC by The World Bank
November 2021

2. INTRODUCTION
• This presentation examines the link between data centres and
sustainable development in the context of the United Nations’
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• This presentation/project is in partial fulfillment for the MOOC offered
by The World Bank named Data for Better Lives: A New Social Contract.
• The “MOOC engages participants with a range of different professional
and civic-interest aims for learning more about how data can be used for
development, as well as those with a general curiosity for what changes
and challenges lay ahead” (Welcome).
• The course (particularly Week 4) highlights the importance of data
centres in the process of how data advances development objectives -
nationally and internationally. This is also underscored in Chapter 5 of
the World Bank’s World Development Report 2021: Data for Better
Lives (WDR 2021). The report’s Spotlight 5.2: Data’s carbon footprint
(pp.186=187) is pertinent for this project.
• It is against such a backdrop that this project will explore the
significance of green data centres for development by delving into the
opportunities and challenges of establishing and operating such centres.
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• Source for Image 1:
https://i.makeagif.com/media/4-17-
2017/nEXcUL.gif

3. WHAT ARE DATA CENTRES?
A data centre is a facility that houses computing facilities
including apps, databases, servers, routers, switches, firewalls,
and supporting components e.g., backup equipment, fire
suppression facilities and air conditioning (Techopedia, 2017).
A particular type of data centre discussed in the course is
“Colocation centre”. This is a “type of data centre where
equipment, space, and bandwidth are available for rental to
retail customers. Colocation facilities provide space, power,
cooling, and physical security for the server, storage, and
networking equipment of other firms and also connect them to
a variety of telecommunications and network service providers
with a minimum of cost and complexity” (Wikipedia, 2021a).
(See also Morgan, 2019).
Data Centres may be established and operated by private for-
profit firms (e.g., CISCO, Equinix, Google, etc.) as well as by
governments (e.g., Government of Canada Data Centres) and
non-profit organizations such as Wikipedia (Canada, 2015;
Google, 2021a; Wikipedia 2021b).
(See also Google (2014, 2021b)
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Source for Image 2:
https://i.makeagif.com/media/10-02-
2014/uH2_wi.gif

4. FUNCTIONS OF DATA CENTRES
• Data Centres are a critical component in the data infrastructure supply chain.
• They are important for governments, business and civil society as they are designed to support/facilitate
various digital applications and services, data storage, processing, use/re-use and exchange as well as
telecommunication services that these bodies require to effectively function in the emerging digital economy.
• In business for example, they provide support for: email and file sharing, productivity applications, customer
relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and databases, big data, artificial
intelligence, and machine learning, virtual desktops, communications and collaboration services (Cisco, 2021).
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5. DATA CENTRE DISTRIBUTION AROUND THE WORLD
• Globally, there are some 3,700 data centers connected to
the internet. However, these data centres are unevenly
distributed. For instance, there are more than three data
centers per million inhabitants in North America, while
the ratio is only 0.8 per million in South Asia and Sub-
Saharan Africa (WDR 2021, p. 170).
• This situation is consistent with the uneven distribution
of data infrastructure around the world as depicted in
Figure 5.10 of the WDR 2021 (p. 170) shown on the left.
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6. ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF DATA CENTRES
• Data Centres do not only provide critical services in the contemporary digital economy, they are
also an investment opportunity in their own right. Data Centres also:
• Provide investment opportunities in the digital infrastructure sector (e.g., those that provide
services to data centres).
• Create jobs during construction and operation stages.
• Provide training facilities/opportunities for high skilled workforce of today and the future.
• Contribute to local economies (spillover/multiplier effects).
• Contribute tax revenues for jurisdictions they are located in.
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7. DATA CENTRE ENERGY CONSUMPTION (E.G., USA)
7
Energy Innovation, Policy and Technology LLC
(2020)
To provide such benefits, Data Centres
consume massive amounts of energy to
power the IT devices and systems and
water for cooling purposes.
The figure on the left shows the various
uses of power at a data center in the USA.

8. DATA CENTRES: ARE THEY BECOMING GREEN?
• According to the WDR (2021) “Despite mounting concerns about the environmental impact of
data centers, there is evidence that the industry is taking aggressive action to curtail emissions
and that availability of renewable energy is a factor in attracting investment (see spotlight 5.2)”
(p.171).
• It also posits that data infrastructure is increasingly becoming energy efficient (e.g., due to a
shift from smaller to larger efficient data centres) and turning to renewable sources of energy.
• Moreover, it notes that the adoption of video conferencing is also helping to reduce global
carbon dioxide emissions (p.186).
See also Equinix, 2020; Google, 2020 & Google, 2021b.
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9. WHAT ARE GREEN DATA CENTRES?
According to Techopedia:
“A green data center is built to have a minimal effect on the natural environment.
The following are primary green data center features:
• “Built from the ground up in an environment friendly facility”
• “Consume minimal power resources for operation and maintenance - both
for the primary computing infrastructure and supporting electronic
resources, such as cooling, backup and lighting”
• “Typically operate with green or renewable energy, such as solar, wind or
[hydro] power”
• “Entire infrastructure is installed with the lowest power and carbon
footprint”
• “Minimal e-waste with recyclable or reusable equipment”
Techopedia (January 1, 2013)
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10. INDUSTRY-BASED MEASURES & RESPONSES (E.G.,
GOOGLE)
• Industry actors such as Google have adopted various ways to manage water resources responsibly. For
example,
• They have deployed technology that uses reclaimed wastewater to cool their data centres (Google
2021b).
• They have also “worked with ecologists and landscape architects to develop an ecological design
strategy and habitat guidelines to improve the resiliency of landscapes and nearby watershed
health, including implementing drip irrigation, using watering systems that adjust to local weather
conditions, and fostering diverse landscapes on our campuses that can withstand the stresses of
climate change” (Google, 2021b).
• Moreover, through the purchase of high-quality carbon offsets Google became carbon neutral in
2007 thus eliminating its carbon legacy. And since 2017 Google has been matching its annual
electricity consumption with 100 per cent renewable energy. It now aims to be carbon-free
everywhere, at all times by 2030 (Google, 2020).
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11. ON THE PATH TO SUSTAINABILITY:
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
To the extent that data centres require large amounts of electricity to power the computer systems
and water to cool the systems, these pose opportunities and challenges to:
(a) Data Centre owners and operators to minimize their carbon footprint and ensure water
resources are used responsibly and conserved; hence the need to foster ongoing innovations
within and outside the industry; and,
(b) Host community authorities to:
i. Regulate the proper use of electricity and water resources by data centres in line with the
SDGs,
ii. Invest in sustainable power and water sources so as to attract the location of data centres
in their communities to promote economic development, and
iii. Ensure that their citizens’ supply of energy and water are not compromised .
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12. MORE WORK STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE!
• In spite of the industry efforts and substantial progress being made so far, there is still more work
to be done. A case in point is the recent controversy surrounding Google’s project in Dalles City
(Oregon, USA).
• Briefly, Dalles City Council (Wasco County, Oregon), approved a deal with Google that will enable
it to build two more data centers there. However, some residents are worried about water usage
by Google at a time of extreme and exceptional drought the area is currently experiencing and
the secrecy of the deal the city has made with Google.
• Even though it has come to light that Google has undertaken to “transfer its water rights to the
city and will build up the Dalles’ water capacity, including drilling wells, building water mains and
developing an aquifer to store water and increase supply during drier periods, the residents are
still concerned that much remains confidential about how much water Google will consume. But
Google considers this a trade secret and hence must remain confidential.
• This clearly points to need to build trust and the importance of good communication.
Selsky (November 2021)
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13. WHAT CAN AND NEEDS TO BE DONE
• Continued innovations (and basic research) to improve energy/electricity and
water resource consumption are imperative if data centres are to be
established and operated evenly and optimally around the world in a
sustainable way.
• Public policies to ensure the availability of green/clean energy sources and
sustainable stewardship of water resources are critical in ensuring that
investors will locate in optimal jurisdictions and habitants of these locations
are served responsibly.
• Education and awareness of ecological issues and start-of-the-art solutions as
well as organizational/institutional capacity building are indispensable.
• Better communication is essential in building trust among the various
stakeholders. 13

14. DATA CENTRES AND SDGS
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• Given Data Centres’ traditional
energy and water consumption
patterns noted above, Green Data
Centres, on the other hand, must
align with the SDGs (especially
Goals 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 & 13) and
may indeed contribute to the
attainment of the SDGs.
Source: Communications materials – United Nations
Sustainable Development

15. REFERENCES
Canada (2015) Data Centre Consolidation Initiative, Government of Canada Data Centres, https://www.canada.ca/en/shared-services/corporate/data-centre-consolidation.html
CISCO (October 2021) What are data centers? https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/data-center-virtualization/what-is-a-data-center.html?dtid=osscdc000283
Data Centre Image !, https://i.makeagif.com/media/4-17-2017/nEXcUL.gif
Data Centre Image 2 , https://i.makeagif.com/media/10-02-2014/uH2_wi.gif
Energy Innovation, Policy and Technology LLC (March 17, 2020) How Much Energy Do Data Centers Really Use? https://energyinnovation.org/2020/03/17/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-really-use/
Equinix (2020) FUTURE FIRST SUSTAINABILITY @ EQUINIX, https://sustainability.equinix.com/?ls=Advertising%20-%20Web&lsd=21q3_enterprise_no-program%20not-applicable_sustainability-page_dm_obility_paid-
search_bing_us-en%20s_AMER_data-center-short_awareness&utm_campaign=us-en%20s_bing_paid-search_data-center-short_dm&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=paid-search&utm_content=no-
program%20not-applicable_sustainability-page-sitelink&msclkid=b2a35b0809cb10c818223a984d4ce78a
Google (2021a) What is a Data Center? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amow8BJm5Go
Google (September 2021b) Our commitment to water stewardship, https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/replenishing-water/
Google (September 14, 2020) Our third decade of climate action: Realizing a carbon-free future, https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/our-third-decade-climate-action-realizing-carbon-free-future/
Google (2014) Inside a Google data center, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZmGGAbHqa0
Morgan, L (May 2, 2019) What is a Colocation Data Center? Purpose, Benefits & Cost, Datamation, https://www.datamation.com/data-center/data-center-colocation/
Selsky, A., (9 November 2021) “City OKs Google data centers amid secrecy, water worries,” Associated Press, https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/city-oks-google-data-centers-amid-secrecy-water-
81065483#:~:text=City%20OKs%20Google%20data%20centers%20amid%20secrecy%2C%20water,SELSKY%20Associated%20Press%20November%209%2C%202021%2C%201%3A14%20PMTechopedia (January 1,
2013) Green Data Center, https://www.techopedia.com/definition/14754/green-data-center
Techopedia (June 2, 2017) Data Center, https://www.techopedia.com/definition/349/data-center
Techopedia (January 1, 2013) Green Data Center, https://www.techopedia.com/definition/14754/green-data-center
United Nations (2021) UN Communications Material (SDGs), https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/news/communications-material/
WDR 2021 (2021) World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives, Washington, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2021
Welcome (October 2021) https://learning.edx.org/course/course-v1:WBGx+DBL01x+3T2021/block-v1:WBGx+DBL01x+3T2021+type@sequential+block@619812b19fa344d689a7a30d9e2de6cd/block-
v1:WBGx+DBL01x+3T2021+type@vertical+block@0f20b94cf3c94902b427b37cfbe627db
Wikipedia (2021a) Colocation centre, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colocation_centre
Wikipedia (2021b) Data Center, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_center 15