Equinix recognizes the urgency of the climate crisis and is working to build resiliency through our operations while driving change in the industry. Since signing the American Business Act on Climate Pledge in 2015, we remain aligned with the Paris Agreement and the ambitions of a 1.5°C future. In 2022, we introduced new management systems to further integrate sustainability into our daily functions, engaged in global policy advocacy and continued to innovate toward a cleaner economy by leveraging opportunities enabled by our green bonds. Furthermore, Equinix is committed to transparency by publishing our greenhouse gas emissions and progress towards our science-based target and climate-neutral goals annually. We also report in alignment with CDP, TCFD, SASB and SBTi frameworks.
Equinix established its 100% renewable energy target in 2015 and set its near-term science-based target and climate neutral goal in 2021. Our ambitious science-based targets heavily inform our design standards and energy efficiency programs while demonstrating our leadership to our stakeholders.
We are leading the way to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions, including through our seasoned renewable energy procurement programs. Equinix has 96% renewable energy coverage and has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the top colocation data center company using renewable energy. To address our Scope 3 emissions, we engage suppliers to set their own science-based targets and are actively measuring and evaluating the embodied carbon of our data centers to inform our strategy. We also continually innovate our green building design and work with our suppliers to identify low-carbon materials and engage with them on innovation.
As industry leaders, we are in a unique position to share our expertise with our suppliers and engage them to set near-term science-based targets to reduce carbon emissions. For more information on how we work with our suppliers to reduce emissions in our supply chain, see Supply Chain Sustainability.
In 2022, Equinix made progress towards its goal of engaging 66% of its suppliers by qualified emissions settings to set a Science-Based Target (SBT), with 17% of suppliers qualified emissions setting their own SBT.
As a highly engaged member of the European Data Centre Association (EUDCA), Equinix identifies collaborative opportunities to move the industry toward a more sustainable future. In 2021, we drove the development of and were a founding signatory of the newly formalized Climate Neutral Data Centre Operator Pact (Pact) and Self-Regulatory Initiative alongside 31 other data center operators and 20 trade associations. The Pact marked the industry’s intention to play a leading role in transitioning Europe to a climate-neutral economy, in support of the European Data Strategy and the European Green Deal, which aims to make Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. As part of the Self-Regulatory Initiative, Equinix and other operator signatories commit to measurable and ambitious targets set for 2025 and 2030 covering multiple aspects of sustainability. In December 2022, the Pact announced the launch of an audit framework to independently verify compliance with these targets.
The Pact is also seeking to improve global water use efficiency for its signatories by proposing a new water metric that provides a limit of 0.4 liters of water per kilowatt-hour of IT power by 2040. For members, such as Equinix, this also means identifying regional water stress levels and percentage of non-potable water used. Further, Equinix joined two new working groups created by the Pact to define targets of a circular economy.
Equinix discloses our GHG emissions and progress against our climate commitments annually. Despite Equinix’s expansion in 2022 (+9% global electricity consumption), we reduced our overall Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 23% from a 2019 baseline.
*Includes all relevant Scope 3 emission categories for Equinix.
Americas
3,200 GWh
Electricity Consumption
100%
Renewable Energy
24,900
mtC02e
Carbon Footprint
Asia-Pacific
1,640 GWh
Electricity Consumption
81%
Renewable Energy
231,600
mtC02e
Carbon Footprint
EMEA
2,910 GWh
Electricity Consumption
100%
Renewable Energy
12,000
mtC02e
Carbon Footprint
The progress we made in 2022 can largely be attributed to our advanced renewable energy procurement efforts and our operational efficiency strategy. In addition to annually publishing our carbon emissions and progress toward our science-based target, we also report in alignment with CDP, TCFD and SBTi frameworks. The table below gives an overview of our commitments, progress, and next steps toward achieving climate neutrality.
Scope 1 | Scope 2 | Scope 3 | |
---|---|---|---|
What Emissions are Significant | Direct emissions from data center on-site diesel and HVO emissions, refrigerants and natural gas for heating | Indirect emissions from data center electricity usage including fuel cells under PPAs and chilled water from leased assets | Indirect emissions from our supply chain including construction activities |
What Is Our Commitment*? | Science-based target of 50% absolute reduction by 2030 and climate neutral across Scope 1 and 2 by 2030 | 66% of suppliers by Qualified emissions** engaged to set science-based targets by 2025 | |
Where Are We Toward our Goals? | 268,500 metric tons CO2e (-23% since 2019 baseline) |
Engaged 17% in FY22 | |
What Did We Do in 2022? | Successfully tested HVO at select sites with existing generators. Where deployed, projected up to a 90% reduction in on-site diesel emissions
Installed free-cooling air-cooled chillers using natural refrigerants in new build projects in EMEA Announced Prime Power hydrogen fuel cell project and joined Clean Hydrogen Partnership in Milan, Italy (December 2021) |
Achieved 96% global renewable energy coverage
Achieved 1.46 annual average PUE with an annual 5.5% reduction Signed 3 wind PPAs in Finland and 5 solar PPAs in Spain, bringing total PPAs under contract to 595 MW |
Developed and launched our supplier engagement strategy, improving our SBT coverage over the prior year. Recognized for a second year by CDP as a Supplier Engagement Leader |
What Are the Next Steps? | Continue testing existing generators and finalize our strategy based on supply availability and test results, forming the foundation for our transition to low-carbon fuels
Trial low-GWP refrigerants and review leakage protocols on existing sites, using natural refrigerants as the default for new build sites with dry cooling |
Continue our investments in energy efficiency and resource conservation
Expand upon current PPA portfolio, particularly in new markets, and evaluate opportunities for on-site solar installations across our global portfolio Link energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy coverage to 2023 Executive Compensation, driving operational best practices across the organization |
Continue engagement with employees and suppliers, provide targeted training for supplier skill development and expand incentive mechanisms for suppliers |
*All targets are against a 2019 baseline.
**Suppliers in the Scope 3 Categories of “Purchased Goods and Services” and “Capital Goods.” In addition, Equinix is committed to a 50% reduction in FERA.
Equinix is making progress toward out long-term goal to use 100% clean and renewable energy.