ENVIRONMENT

do what it takes to
protect the planet

Amid the challenges brought on by climate change, Equinix is committed to preserving our collective future by addressing pressing environmental challenges to ensure the sustainability and resiliency of our communities, global society and business. Our multi-faceted approach leverages numerous opportunities to advance sustainability within our industry and create long-term value for all our stakeholders. We set ambitious carbon emissions-reduction targets to minimize our operational impact; engage with suppliers and organizations that share our values to advance low-carbon policies; and share renewable energy procurement knowledge to accelerate the clean energy transition. We also pioneer green building and design innovations throughout our data centers to do what it takes to address climate change.

Our Environmental Commitments

Equinix advances a bold environmental agenda through a range of commitments:

Addressing the Urgency of Climate Change Through Our Targets

  • Achieving our near-term science-based targets: reducing Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 2030 and engaging our 66% of suppliers, by Qualified emissions, in Scope 3 Category 1 & 2 to set near term SBTs by 2025.
  • Becoming climate neutral across our global operations by 2030.
  • Supporting the European Commission’s continental goals through our alignment with the EU Climate Neutral Data Centre Operator Pact.
  • Allocating funds to deliver sustainable outcomes across our business and leveraging green finance to propel our investments in greening our footprint.

Scaling Renewable Energy Purchasing

  • Reaching our goal of 100% clean and renewable across our global portfolio by 2030.

Designing the Sustainable Data Center of the Future and Investing in Innovation

  • Designing, building and operating sustainable data centers planned holistically to reduce our consumption of all resources.
  • Achieving LEED certification or an equivalent green building standard for all new construction.
  • Leveraging technology and innovation to encourage commercialization of solutions that will enable the Data Center of the Future for Equinix, our stakeholders and our industry.
  • Building and maintaining healthy and sustainable office settings for our employees and customers.

Assessing and Mitigating Climate Risk 

  • Recognizing and mitigating the key risks of climate change on Equinix’s business value proposition.

Advocating for Change and Inspiring Others 

  • Partnering with like-minded organizations to advance environmental and climate change policies and accelerate action and innovation on key priorities such as renewable energy and embodied carbon.

Environmental Highlights

Our Progress

23% reduction
in operational
emissions

across Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions from 2019 baseline

96%

renewable energy

Fifth year in a row with +90% global renewable energy coverage

Thermal
Efficiency
Commitment

First digital infrastructure company to commit to optimizing overall power use by operating its data centers within wider temperature parameters

A

CDP climate
change
rating

Achieved highest ranking score for the first time

595 MW
of PPAs

under long-term contract with 225 MW of operational PPAs and 370 MW in development¹

17%

of Qualified²
Scope 3 emissions

covered by supplier-set science-based targets towards our near-term SBT 66% supplier engagement target³

$45M

invested in 2022 toward energy efficiency

Driving operational excellence and energy demand reduction across our global footprint

1.46

average annual PUE

5.5% improvement in Power Usage Effectiveness from 2021

10

Whole
Building
LCAs
completed

as of the end of 2022, helping drive carbon-informed design and construction decisions

1 MW (megawatt): PPA (Power Purchase Agreement)
2 Includes Category 1 and 2 Scope 3 emissions
3 SBT (science-based target)

Key Environmental Metrics

Environmental Data: Energy and Emissions

Metric Units 2019
(Baseline)
2020 2021 2022
Energy Consumption GWh 5,700 6,430 7,140 7,750
Renewable Energy GWh 5,250 5,840 6,770 7,430
% Renewable Energy % 92% 91% 95% 96%
PUE (Annual Average) Quotient 1.54 1.51 1.48 1.46
Energy Intensity GWh / million USD revenue 1.028 1.077 1.084 1.077
GHG Emissions: Scope 1 mtCO2e 40,700 55,100 50,700 40,300
GHG Emissions: Scope 2
(location-based)
mtCO2e 2,079,000  2,280,200 2,307,600 2,405,200
GHG Emissions: Scope 2
(market-based)
mtCO2e 306,000 327,700 254,800 228,200
GHG Emissions: Scope 3 mtCO2e 1,311,000 1,318,000 1,504,000 1,292,000
Carbon Intensity
(location-based)
mtCO2e / million USD revenue 381 389 355 337
Carbon Intensity
(market-based)
mtCO2e / million USD revenue 62 64 46 37

Energy and emissions are assured to ISO 14064-3:2019 standards for the quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Accounting and Assurance

Greenhouse Gas Protocol

Equinix references the WRI/WBSCD Greenhouse Gas Protocol to calculate our carbon footprint. Our energy and renewable energy consumption, Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions are independently assured to ISO 14064-3:2019 Standards for the quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions.