Our Sustainability Strategy: A 2030 Vision
We stand at the start of a new era, where technology and sustainability must go hand in hand. It’s a challenge we willingly embrace because we believe that together, we can innovate for good. Our mission? To become a carbon-, waste-, and water-neutral data center provider by 2030.
Our sustainability strategy is not a corporate buzzword. It is a core component of EdgeConneX business model, a guiding principle engrained in our DNA. Our approach to our sustainability policy is evidenced within our mission predicated around Customers, People, Planet, where we aim to do our part to care for Mother Earth and demonstrate our commitment to sustainable practices. Our priority is to improve our data center environmental footprint, deploy creative universal and market-specific solutions, and be good neighbors to the communities around our facilities.
Vision in Action
We are honored to have our CEO and co-founder Randy Brouckman recently named Northern Virginia Tech Council (NVTC) winner of the 2024 Sustainability Champion Award. He leads EdgeConneX on our sustainable journey and building data centers sustainably for our customers. Learn more about our progress in action below.
The Three Pillars of Sustainability: Social, Economic, Environmental
While we recognize the importance of these three pillars, it all ultimately comes down to people. We are all inhabitants of this planet and are collectively responsible for its well-being as well as the well-being of those around us. That’s why our approach to sustainability goes beyond just ‘being green’ – it’s about being human to other humans and ensuring sustainable social and economic practices for a holistic sustainability-based business. Learn more about one of our conservation efforts to support DCs for Bees, the world’s first data center pollinator plan.
EdgeConneX understands that it’s our people that make a difference. We are pleased for EdgeConneX to have been named as a 2023 Top Workplace Award winner, demonstrating our people-centered culture and the value of the voice of our employees. We earned this recognition through an anonymous third-party survey, which measured various aspects of workplace culture, such as alignment, execution, and connection. In addition, EdgeConneX was recognized as a 2023 Top Workplaces USA Culture Excellence Award winner for Employee Well-being, Employee Appreciation, Purpose and Values, Professional Development, and Great Leadership.
“Company-wide, we care for our Customers, People, and Planet by implementing a holistic Sustainability and ESG policy, with every role in every office committed to making EdgeConneX a leader in delivering sustainable solutions. Our customers are at the core of our DNA, as we work to exceed their requirements for practical, sustainable energy, water, land, and operations options. Combined, these will enable us to deliver global solutions empowering services like machine learning, AI, cloud, content, and commerce while continuing to ensure that we are helping to lead the way for our industry to be a pivotal contributor to sustainable solutions worldwide.” – Randy Brouckman, Co-founder and CEO, EdgeConneX
Other Notable Highlights
All our data centers globally are powered by 100% renewable electricity and in 2023, we achieved 100% carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and by working with our customers achieved a significant 44% reduction in Scope 3 emission.
We’ve also received formal validation by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and near-term science-based emissions reduction targets. The SBTi’s Target Validation Team has classified EdgeConneX Scope 1 and 2 target ambition as in line with a 1.5°C trajectory, currently the most ambitious designation available through the SBTi process for companies within the ICT sector.
Historic Green Financing
EdgeConneX has executed multiple substantial deals that raised nearly $5 billion over the last 1.5 years, including a massive $3.3 billion in Sustainability-Linked financing for developing critical digital infrastructure and a landmark $403.8 million deal in Sustainability-Linked Senior Facilities, accelerating the company’s expansion plans and green initiatives. These groundbreaking financing mechanisms center around EdgeConneX meeting specific targets and receiving margin adjustments when specific key performance indicators (KPIs) concerning the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of our data centers, the use of renewable electricity, and achieving safety goals are satisfied.
We continue to finance and refinance ongoing and future green data center projects to support our customers’ global requirements under the structures and policies defined in the EdgeConneX Green Finance Framework.
Committed to Transparency
These innovative sustainability financing mechanisms, along with our published Sustainability Reports, exemplify our commitment to transparency. Our deep commitment to efficiency and transparency also propelled EdgeConneX to achieve the highest ranking in the 2023 Structure Research State of Environmental Report.
Protecting Nature: Where We Operate and Beyond
Our commitment to environmental preservation extends beyond our data centers. We’re working to enhance biodiversity in and around our areas of operation, from creating wetlands to improving habitats. We develop landscaping plans that promote biodiversity by focusing on indigenous plants and species. Furthermore, we focus our efforts on water and waste conservation. We deeply care about protecting nature, and it’s our duty to demonstrate and communicate this commitment at every opportunity.
Bespoke Sustainable Data Centers: The Future is Customizable
We’re proud to offer customized data centers designed for our customers with sustainability at the forefront. By merging innovation with eco-conscious design principles, we can deliver industry-leading infrastructure solutions without compromising on environmental commitments.
What’s Next? The Road to 2030 and Beyond
As we work towards our 2030 goal, we’re continually asking ourselves: how can we be greener now and in the future? It’s a question that fuels our innovation and drives our commitment to sustainability.
Join us on this journey. Stay tuned for more developments about our sustainability efforts, hear from our team, and get a behind-the-scenes look at our initiatives.
Join our new sustainability newsletter, #WhenGreenLeadsGoodFollows, featuring actionable insights from our team and informative articles that will fuel your journey toward a greener future. Sign up HERE.
Together, we can lead the way to a sustainable future. Because when green leads, good follows.