In the coming years, corporate sustainability reporting obligations will increasingly be extended to small and medium-sized data centres. Péter Müllner from GLOBAL SWITCH FM GMBH will explain what this already means for the data centre industry during the ESG & CSR Reporting panel discussion at the Data Center Expert Summit on 4 June in Offenbach am Main. He explains what the discussion will be about in a brief interview with eco:
Mr Müllner, which data centres are affected by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)?
All data centres over 500 kW are obliged to report on energy efficiency, water consumption, CO2 footprint, reuse of waste heat, etc. as part of the CSRD. As almost all data centres are above the 500 kW capacity limit, with the exception of some local enterprise data centres, a large majority of industry players are affected. All known co-locators and hyperscalers are subject to the reporting obligation.
What obligations are likely to result from this?
All companies that are obliged to report under the CSRD must carry out the following steps within their organisation:
- Use an appropriate and realistic scope of own reporting, as the reporting should only cover the relevant requirements of the Directive.
- Conduct a robust double materiality assessment to determine your organisation’s impacts on people and the environment, as well as the risks these impacts pose to your business.
- Ensure you have the data required for reporting and identify any gaps. Take part in the supply chain to ensure the transparency required by the CSRD.
How should data centres prepare now?
Preparation includes proper familiarisation with the CSRD requirements and a thorough data audit to identify any gaps.
Thank you very much for the interview!
Péter Müllner is Operations Director in Frankfurt at GLOBAL SWITCH FM GMBH and will be speaking on 4 June at 12:30 in the panel discussion ESG & CSR Reporting at the Data Center Expert Summit, a German-language event. Register now!
