New collaboration toward more sustainable data centers

The data center landscape is changing rapidly. More than ever, data centers are connected to issues around business resiliency — performance, availability and security. Greater demand means more facilities. Therefore, the negative environmental impact is also growing fast. To help tackle the problems, TCO Development recently expanded the sustainability certification TCO Certified to include data center products; network equipment, data storage products and servers. A new generation of the certification was launched at the end of last year, with updates and changes in several criteria areas that will lead to; safer chemicals, more circular solutions, better social responsibility in the supply chain and improved transparency.

Today’s announcement of TCO Development’s membership in the Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance (SDIA), is an important step that will support progress towards more sustainable data center solutions and help organizations to select and purchase IT products responsibly.

“Our vision is that servers, data storage products and network equipment, as well as all other IT products, should have an environmentally and socially responsible life cycle. We are well aware that we can’t achieve this on our own. By working together with the members of SDIA, we want to maximize our efforts of reducing the negative environmental impact IT products have and minimize e-waste. Together with purchasers who demand more sustainable data center products, we can push the IT industry to move in the right direction”, Andreas Nobell, Development Manager at TCO Development explains.

“With TCO Development, the SDIA is expanding its membership base more towards certification, a critical element of defining objective standards on what is sustainable. This is particularly important when it comes to our work on the Digital Carbon Footprint. I am very excited to welcome a renowned institution such as TCO Development in our Alliance”, Daan Terpstra, CEO at SDIA says.

Purchasers increasingly include sustainability criteria in their procurement selection process and there is a great interest in TCO Certified from the IT industry. Collaborations with organizations such as SDIA will help increase progress toward sustainable IT products.

Information about the latest generation of TCO Certified can be found here.

Established in 2019, SDIA is a non-profit network of more than 90 organizations working to catalyze the transition to sustainable digital infrastructure. It aligns all actors of the digital ecosystem – from industry to governments to suppliers to consumers – on the mission of decarbonizing the global digital economy and realizing their Roadmap to Sustainable Digital Infrastructure by 2030.