EU data centre code of conduct "vital step"

News Article - Friday, November 21, 2008

filed under: Technology

The publication of a new code of conduct to help reduce the carbon emissions measurement of data centres by the EU is a "vital step", according to the British Computer Society (BCS).

A white paper published by the BCS's Data Specialist Group helped to inform discussions about what the code would consist of.

The chair of the BCS's carbon footprint group, Bob Harvey, said that the code would help firms which wanted to improve their accounting for carbon emissions.

He said: "This is a vital step forward for the industry in encouraging IT management and data centre operators to focus on the appropriate issues for data centres.

"This is one of the key issues for the industry today and in the future."

According to the code, which will be voluntary, data centre energy usage is expected to contribute "substantially" to the EU's consumption as a whole.

It added that in western Europe in 2007, electricity consumption was estimated at 56 TWh per year, with this predicted to rise to 104 TWh per year by 2020.