Decarbonize the Internet
Every action we take on the internet—uploading a photo, streaming a video, or even just clicking a link, requires data storage and processing from a physical data center. At least 1% of the world’s electricity is data center’s daily operations to power, cool, and backup server equipment. This demand will continue to rise.[1] As organizations set Scope 3 emissions targets, a significant portion the supply chain emissions may be colocation data center facilities (colos) and public cloud service providers. There is a massive opportunity for data centers, cloud service providers, and their customers to reduce the internet’s carbon footprint through increased efficiency and renewable energy procurement commitments.
Enter CEBA’s Future of Internet Power (FoIP) initiative, a key coalition of companies identifying barriers and developing solutions for energy management and renewable energy procurement by colocation data center facilities (colos) and public cloud service providers. FoIP’s membership is comprised of key CEBA members representing the largest internet and data center companies in the world who recognize the need for efficiency and renewable energy procurement and demand action by their colo and cloud providers.
Accelerate sustainability in data centers and the public cloud
FoIP aims to power the internet with 100% renewable energy by building a community of stakeholders who focus on collaborative innovation and education to solve the toughest challenges in the industry.
The FoIP initiative is guided by a set of principles to help data center customers engage their providers to procure renewable energy. A number of resources exist to support FoIP participants as they address key barriers to renewable energy procurement in data centers, such as scope accounting and the pass-through of renewable energy benefits from provider to customer. Future work through the FoIP initiative will focus on building out new tools to address outstanding market challenges, and addressing emissions associated with public cloud services.
Recently, CEBA launched a program within the FoIP initiative, the LESsor Sustainable Energy Network (LESSEN), a training program for data center providers and commercial real estate landlords that will equip these key stakeholders with knowledge, resources, and a community to help them advance their sustainable energy efforts.
Why participate in FoIP?
As companies use more data, their carbon footprints will grow. FoIP brings together colo and cloud customers, service providers, and industry stakeholders to address challenges to energy consumption and access to renewable energy through innovative solutions across the data sector. Joining FoIP is a cost- and effort-effective way to drive industry impact, meet supply chain sustainability goals, and engage with a community of companies that share challenges and objectives. CEBA members engaged in FoIP have the opportunity to drive the direction and strategy of this work, determining which market barriers are addressed and guiding the development of resources that are targeted at these challenges.
Get Involved
CEBA membership gives your company the opportunity to participate in FoIP and demonstrate demand for maximizing efficiency and renewable energy solutions within your facilities and operations. To learn more about how to get involved, please contact supplychain@cebuyers.org.
[1] Energy Innovation (March 2020). How Much Energy Do Data Centers Really Use?. https://energyinnovation.org/2020/03/17/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-really-use/