Data centres Data with destiny
Amid a broader sustainability push, the European Union has been careful not to ignore the environmental impact of data centres. Enter the Code of Conduct for Energy Effi ciency. First promulgated in the wake of the fi nancial crisis, the regulations are still having an effect. And with Brussels expecting all European data centres to be completely carbon neutral by 2030, there’s evidence the code is going to only grow in importance. Phoebe Galbraith investigates, speaking to Paolo Bertoldi, senior expert at the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) to fi nd out more.
D
ata centres are the backbone of the digital world, allowing data and information to stream seamlessly – and, according to Statista, representing a market worth projected to reach $325.9bn in 2023. The largest centres are typically operated by technology giants such as Google or Microsoft, as they support host applications, store data, and perform critical operations, among many other critical IT roles. And though the cloud is increasingly gaining in prominence, data centres continue to ensure that the sector’s financial transactions are securely and efficiently processed, customer data is stored correctly – and they meet various regulatory requirements. With the highly sensitive and important nature of a bank’s service, meanwhile, any
interruption could lead to serious financial and reputational damage. The sheer amount of energy that goes into running and keeping these centres cool, however, has raised concerns about their environmental impact on the planet. To that end, in 2008 the European Commission announced the Code of Conduct (CoC) for Energy Efficiency in Data Centres, encouraging lower energy consumption and promoting sustainability.
This made sense. Consuming at a rate of 40-45TWh, data centres use remarkable amounts of energy, altogether equalling 1.4-1.6% of EU consumption. And with more than 130 banks committed to the so-called ‘Net-Zero Banking Alliance’ – a commitment to reach net-zero emission by 2050 – data centres will play a major role role in making banks more sustainabile.
Future Banking /
www.nsbanking.com Future Banking /
www.nsbanking.com
19
vectorfusionart/
Shutterstock.com
vectorfusionart/
Shutterstock.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53
