Podcast: Data Center and AI Sustainability Imperatives with iMasons Climate Accord Executive Director, Miranda Gardiner

On this episode of the DCF Show Podcast, iMasons Climate Accord (ICA) Executive Director, Miranda Gardiner, shares insights on sustainability and emissions reduction strategies for data centers with DCF editors Matt Vincent and David Chernicoff.

During the course of the talk, Gardiner explains how the iMasons Climate Accord (ICA), as the tip of the "eco-spear" for Infrastructure Masons, focuses on data center industry emissions reductions as its primary goal, including approximately 300 member companies in the digital infrastructure space. The recent ICA flagship initiative emphasizing the value of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for materials and equipment, as signed by major hyperscale players like AWS, Google, and Microsoft, and promoted by key data center industry suppliers such as Schneider Electric, is also unpacked.

We also learn how the Climate Accord aims to enhance global outreach and collaboration, particularly in regions such as APAC and Latin America, to address local sustainability challenges. Gardiner also discusses how the group's future efforts will prioritize transparency and verification in sustainability claims to ensure accountability within the data center industry.

Here's a timeline of the podcast's highlights organized by topic of discussion:

Introduction to Sustainability in Data Centers
1:51 - Gardiner discusses her background in architecture and how her focus on sustainability has been a lifelong goal.
3:21 - Gardiner explains her transition into data center sustainability, highlighting her present role with the iMasons Climate Accord.

Roadmap for Sustainable Organizations
4:00 - A sustainability roadmap for organizations is discussed. Objectives include climate strategy and sustainable purchasing.
5:28 - iMasons call to action on environmental product declarations is touched on.
6:50 - Opportunities for regulatory compliance and partnerships are discussed. Carbon disclosure labels on equipment are highlighted.

Equipment Efficiency and Verification Standards
7:42 - On efficiency improvements in equipment and how more data is now available for structural engineers and planners.
8:07 - Concerns about net zero claims are raised. The importance of regulatory standards and verification is emphasized.
10:04 - Guidelines for data centers regarding power and water sustainability are discussed. Collaboration with regulatory bodies is mentioned to ensure proper guidance.

Global Decarbonization Efforts
11:38 - Decarbonization is discussed as a potential benefit of globalization. The need for global collaboration in climate efforts is emphasized.
12:43 - Over 50% of members are involved globally. The complexity of addressing international concerns is acknowledged.
13:37 - Plans to expand advisory groups for regional insights are shared. Partnerships with local organizations are being pursued to enhance global collaboration.

Artificial Intelligence in Data Center Operations
14:41 - Discussion on the impact of AI on data centers. Sustainability is highlighted as a critical business consideration.
17:44 - Concerns about the power and water demands of AI technologies are raised. The importance of balancing rapid AI advancements with sustainability is emphasized.

Miranda was a featured speaker at last September's inaugural Data Center Frontier Trends Summit. The call for speakers is now open for this year's event, which will be held again in Reston, Virginia from Aug. 26-28.

DCF Show Podcast Quotes from Miranda Gardiner, Executive Director, iMasons Climate Accord

On Her Career Journey and Early Passion for Sustainability:
- "My goals have always been kind of sustainability, affordable housing. I shared a story last week on a panel that my mother even found a yearbook of me from my elementary school years. The question that year was like, what do you hope for the future? And mine was there'd be no pollution and everyone would have a home."

On Transitioning to Data Centers:
- "We started to see this mission-critical focus in facilities like data centers, airports, and healthcare buildings. For me, connecting sustainability into the performance of the building made data centers the perfect match."

Overview of the iMasons Climate Accord:
- "The iMasons Climate Accord is an initiative started in 2022. The primary focus is emission reductions, and the only requirement to join is having an emission reduction strategy."
- "This year, we refined our roadmap to include objectives such as having a climate strategy, incentivizing low-GHG materials like green concrete, and promoting equity by supporting small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses."

On Industry Collaboration and Leadership:
- "This year, through the Climate Accord, we issued a call to action on the value of environmental product declarations (EPDs). It was signed by AWS, Digital Realty, Google, Microsoft, Schneider Electric, and Meta—talk about a big initiative and impact!"

On EPDs and Carbon Disclosure:
- "EPDs provide third-party verification of materials coming into buildings. Pairing that with the Open Compute Project’s carbon disclosure labels on equipment creates vast opportunities for transparency and change."
- "It opens up vast levels of change—equipment can be more efficient, building envelopes can respond, and structural engineers and planners now have a lot more data to work with to drive that change."

On Big Leaps vs. Incremental Sustainability:
- "To your point about big picture versus incremental, I think the industry has two opportunities: staying ahead of regulatory pressures like those in the EU and leveraging partnerships, like the one between iMasons and the Open Compute Project, to drive meaningful change."

On Sustainability's Broad Ripple Effect:
- "By increasing the visibility and amounts of that kind of information in the market, we now have opportunities for equipment, building materials, and planning processes to ripple down and drive efficiency and sustainability at every level."

On Greenwashing and the Need for Verification:
- "If I had a ruler, I wouldn’t want to say I’d use it, but it might be part of my repertoire for claims like, 'We’re net carbon zero because we’re buying credits.'"
- "We are being much more mindful of citations, equations, and how we calculate emissions to ensure all claims are verified and supported. This ensures transparency and accountability."

On Industry Growth and Emissions:
- "We’re a growing industry, and it means our emissions are growing. We need to take an even more stringent approach to offset and mitigate emissions if we stand a chance at mitigating climate change."

On Collaboration for Policy and Guidelines:
- "We’re not as involved on the policy side, but we’re in conversations with groups like Lawrence Berkeley Lab and others to ensure that updates to federal and state-level regulations push the needle forward while also providing the right guidance."
- "We aim to guide and inform the unique requirements of data centers, especially concerning energy and power use, which are top of mind for everyone right now."

On Global Collaboration and Challenges:
- "Over 50% of our members operate globally or are based outside North America. Addressing global concerns is nuanced, as it often involves country-by-country regulatory differences."
- "We are working to expand our advisory groups regionally and collaborate with organizations like the German Data Center Association and Africa Data Center Association to better address sustainability challenges in regions like APAC, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East."

On the AI Boom and Its Impacts on Sustainability:
- "AI, like any new technology, comes with benefits and trade-offs. It can help deliver solutions faster, but it also takes significant power and water."
- "With the AI boom, there’s an argument to be made that sustainability isn’t just altruistic for the planet—it’s also critical for business, especially as power demand surges to unprecedented levels."

On Balancing Innovation and Responsibility:
- "AI’s speed and efficiency are transformative, but we need to manage its resource demands responsibly. Visiting a data center housing AI equipment, you can feel its scale—it’s noisy and almost vibrating with energy."

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