Data centre builder and operator Cologix has nearly achieved carbon neutrality in Canada, as it aspires to hit the target across its entire business.

The Denver, Colo.-based company has 42 data centres in Canada and the U.S., with 22 of its sites in Canada. Most are in Montreal (12), with the remainder split evenly between Toronto and Vancouver. Its cloud ecosystem includes tech giants Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, IBM and Oracle, as well as Canadian companies Rogers, Telus and Carbon60, according to its 2023 ESG report.

Sustainability has been core since its founding, Cologix’s chief marking officer and ESG strategy officer Page Haun told Sustainable Biz Canada in an interview. “We want to make sure we are good stewards in our communities, so it’s a part of all of our thinking and planning.”

Its top line environmental aspirations are powering all of its facilities with renewable power and reaching carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, and achieving overall carbon neutrality in the long term. As of 2023, the company uses 68 per cent carbon-free energy and 98 per cent in Canada.

Cologix is balancing an “interesting time for the industry as it’s going through such tremendous growth”, Haun said, presenting a tug-and-pull between sustainability and high demand.

How Cologix is nearing carbon neutrality in Canada

In Canada, where it has 95 megawatts of data centres, Cologix powers its facilities with primarily clean energy (the electricity from the provinces it operates in are mostly renewables or nuclear energy) and promotes energy efficiency.

For one of its Toronto sites, it uses deep lake water cooling to displace 55 megawatts of energy per year. Free air cooling that makes use of the naturally cool air to chill water is used in one of its Vancouver facilities.

Across the whole company, all of its new facilities are outfitted with LED lighting. Cologix is also cutting its generator testing frequency, which saves greenhouse gas emissions.

As a result, the company is nearly carbon neutral across Scope 1 and 2 emissions in Canada, though Haun noted it is not powered entirely by renewables.

Despite adding almost 400,000 square feet of space under management from 2021 to 2023, Cologix has cut its Scope 1 emissions to 17 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), down 23 per cent from 2021 and 33 per cent from 2022.

Scope 2 emissions follow a similar path: reductions of three per cent from 2023 from 2021 to approximately 58,000 tCO2e, and a five per cent reduction from 2022.

Shrinking its electricity and water use

The need for data centres has jumped due to a surge in internet use and complex computing applications such as artificial intelligence, turning the sector into a heavy energy and water consumer. An estimate by Goldman Sachs suggests global energy consumption from data centres will double by the end of the decade, with emissions also tracking similarly.

Cologix’s average power usage effectiveness, which measures how efficiently a data centre uses energy, was 1.425 in 2023. Such a figure surpasses the global industry average of 1.55, the report states.

Investments were made into technology such as water-cooled magnetic levitation chillers and development of a direct-to-chip liquid cooling process to address its energy use.

Over 90 per cent of Cologix’s sites use closed-loop water systems that recycle water, helping it to achieve a water usage effectiveness of 0.23 litres per one kilowatt-hour, which the company claims is “significantly lower” than the average data centre figure of 1.8 litres per one kilowatt-hour.

Accounting for Scope 3 and embodied carbon

Scope 3 emissions, the pollution arising from a company’s supply chain, are widely considered to be the trickiest category to account for and reduce. Cologix’s goal is to halve Scope 3 emissions by 2030.

Cologix does track some Scope 3 categories, namely waste generated in operations (192.71 tCO2e in 2023) and employee commuting (966.52 tCO2e in 2023). But it aims to capture a more complete picture.

By 2025, the company plans to partner with its builders and operators to quantify its Scope 3 emissions. Some of the Scope 3 categories, such as purchased goods and services and business travel, are expected to be reported in Cologix’s 2024 ESG report.

Cologix wants data it is comfortable disclosing first, which will set a foundation for action. “We don’t want to just make very broad assumptions that don’t have enough specific data.” Haun said.

Another type of greenhouse gas emission Cologix is taking steps to uncover is embodied carbon, the pollution made from building materials. A process to calculate embodied carbon in its construction is being developed, as well as a life cycle approach to building practices.

This year it is examining the baseline embodied carbon for two greenfield construction projects. Such an initiative allows it to see potential choices to track embodied carbon and eventually cut its impact.

Haun said low-carbon concrete is being optioned for future construction by the company asking vendors to participate in the bidding process.

Cologix recycled some of the concrete from a demolished building into aggregate that was used for construction for a new facility, and is working on a site in Canada that will be comprised mainly from reclaimed wood.

Next sustainability steps

To further articulate its sustainability strategy, Haun noted the hiring of its first chief energy strategy officer Shafaq Hedstrom and chief business officer Tara Risser. Hedstrom will be figuring out how burgeoning demand affects Cologix’s sustainability objectives. Risser, who handles partnerships, will be evaluating opportunities with renewable energy companies.

Additionally, Cologix is considering the influence of architecture and operations on its sustainability performance.

Priorities for the company will be reducing water consumption, leveraging the natural environment for sustainability, certifying its data centres under LEED and Energy Star and adding more renewable energy capacity.

As it seeks to add more data centre capacity where it already operates, a priority for Cologix is being creative with its existing area, which means being both more efficient and sustainable, Haun said.