Every year, Earth Day reminds us of our shared responsibility to protect the planet we call home. At EdgeConneX, this mission is woven into everything we do. Our Customers, People, Planet mission goes beyond words, placing sustainability at the heart of our operations. From innovative energy solutions to water neutrality and zero-waste goals, we are driven by a commitment to sustainably build the infrastructure our customers need wherever they need. This Earth Day, we celebrate the incredible work of our sustainability experts, whose efforts fuel a greener, more resilient future for everyone. Check out our People Behind the Progress infographic. And read on to discover the ‘why’s of some of the EdgeConneX Sustainability team members contributing to our sustainability progress:
Haley Willis Chittick, Sr. Environmental Engineer
Describe your role at EdgeConneX and your responsibilities as part of the sustainability team.
HWC: I lead environmental compliance across our global data center portfolio, ensuring every site meets local, regional, and international environmental obligations – from spill prevention and hazardous materials management to air emissions and permitting. I also lead our Zero Waste to Landfill initiative, guiding sites through certification and vendor alignment, and I’m spearheading our global water neutrality program. My role is embedding environmental performance into how we operate – consistently, efficiently, and with a focus on long-term impact.
What inspired you to pursue a career in sustainability, and what fuels your passion for protecting our planet?
HWC: Growing up on a barrier island off the coast of North Carolina, I saw firsthand how fragile and powerful nature can be, and the delicate balance between the environment, the community, and the economy. That early exposure to coastal resilience and conservation shaped my path. Today, I’m driven by the belief that operational excellence, community involvement, and environmental stewardship aren’t separate – they’re deeply connected.
Why do you believe sustainability efforts are essential for our industry and future generations?
HWC: Our industry is powering the digital world, but that comes with real environmental demands, like energy, water, land use, and materials. Sustainability isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a business imperative. The infrastructure we build today will shape resource availability, community health, and climate outcomes for decades. Embedding sustainability into our operations now means we’re designing a future where innovation and environmental responsibility go hand-in-hand, rather than other industries who are now having to make amends for historical choices with negative impacts. For future generations, it’s about leaving behind systems that aren’t just functional, but also resilient, efficient, and aligned with a healthier planet.
What’s one project or initiative you’re particularly proud of being a part of, and how has it impacted you?
HWC: Validating our sites in Amsterdam, Brussels, Jakarta, and Santiago as UL 2799 Zero Waste to Landfill or Landfill Diversion certified was a standout moment this past year. It required tight coordination with vendors, local haulers, and internal teams across four languages, five countries, and four continents. That project taught me how powerful cross-functional collaboration can be when sustainability is the shared goal.
If you could share one simple tip or action for others to help care for the planet, what would it be and why?
HWC: Start with curiosity. One of my favorite quotes, recently popularized by the TV show “Ted Lasso” but originally from Walt Whitman, is “Be curious, not judgmental.” It’s easy to critique what others are or aren’t doing for the environment – but that rarely leads to progress and instead can result in resentment or alienation. Ask questions. Why do people make the choices they make? What barriers might they face? Not everyone has the same access, resources, or opportunities to contribute in the same way. The best thing you can do is try – imperfect actions, driven by curiosity and compassion, are far more powerful than judgement.
What does Earth Day mean to you personally, and how does it connect to the work you do every day?
HWC: Truly, I joke with friends and family and say that Earth Day is every day, but really, I view Earth Day as a reset button. It is a point in the year that reminds me to step back, realign, and re-commit. With all the focus and hype surrounding environmental protection that inevitably gets posted each year by numerous people and companies, it refreshes the energy behind why we do what we do for us. Every permit I review, every vendor I work with, every metric I track, every performance indicator we hit – it all adds up to protecting the planet in practical, measurable ways. What we’re doing at EdgeConneX matters and will continue to matter for years to come – and I think that’s really amazing.
Braden Walden, Senior Power and Sustainability Analyst
Describe your role at EdgeConneX and your responsibilities as part of the sustainability team.
BW: I am a power and sustainability analyst, and as the title suggests, it means wearing two hats that often intersect. On the one hand, there’s power – getting power contracts and ensuring we have electricity to power our data centers. This is obviously a very important part of the data center process. The other part is sustainability, which can involve signing up for green power and other measures, such as renewables, to power our data centers more sustainably. One unique project I’m working on is building solar panels on the roof of some of our data centers. I’m also involved with preparing data for our sustainability reports and getting specific energy and environmental certifications.
Why do you believe sustainability efforts are essential for our industry and future generations?
BW: I think sustainability is particularly important in our industry. Making sure that we do that in the most sustainable way possible is in my opinion, the most important thing. I would add that it’s important for future generations. It’s all part of our collective responsibility. A lot of great progress has been made not just in our industry but across the world with the acceptance of renewable power. That was just not the case 20 years ago.
If you could share one simple tip or action that others could take to help care for the planet, what would it be?
BW: This might be a different kind of answer than you’d expect, but one of the best things people can do to help save the planet is to talk to people. If you believe that we’re facing an environmental crisis and need to do whatever we can to stem it, speak to those in your life who don’t think that. In a very empathetic and understanding way, as well as a persuasive way. I believe this is probably one of the best things we can do because nobody can solve the climate crisis. It has to be collective. We all must do our part. So, the number one thing people can do is talk to and convince others of the gravity of the issue.
Katie Tonucci, Environmental Analyst
Describe your role at EdgeConneX and your responsibilities as part of the sustainability team.
KT: My role on the sustainability team as an Environmental Analyst involves managing environmental compliance, mostly for the U.S. sites. This primarily includes ensuring sites are in compliance with their air permits, Tier II hazardous materials requirements, SPCC requirements, and taking on the Zero Waste initiative to have all sites certified by 2030.
What inspired you to pursue a career in sustainability, and what fuels your passion for protecting our planet?
KT: I’ve always loved nature, and the more I learned about the unsustainable practices that take place around the Earth, the more I wanted to protect it.
Why do you believe sustainability efforts are essential for our industry and future generations?
KT: Sustainability efforts are essential for our industry because as resources that we need to operate become scarce, it’s important to create that demand for innovation of more efficient processes while keeping them green. While air permits require us to stay within a certain limit of emissions, we still need to operate. So, utilizing solutions that keep us running while minimizing impact on human and environmental health is crucial for our future.
If you could share one simple tip or action for others to help care for the planet, what would it be and why?
KT: I would say composting is a simple but effective way for individuals to help the planet at home. Slow food decomposition produces methane, which has a powerful warming effect, worse than CO2. Keeping food from landfills reduces methane production.
Andrew Brodeur, Vice President – National Real Estate
Describe your role at EdgeConneX and your responsibilities as part of the sustainability team.
AB: My role at EdgeConneX as it pertains to the sustainability team is to oversee the Power Billing and Environmental Compliance teams. I work with our sustainability team to ensure a strategic plan to meet our yearly and 2030 sustainability commitments to our customers and EQT. This includes purchasing green power or credits for our data center power usage and the path to Zero Waste compliance projects to offset our water consumption. We have a great team, and I enjoy working with everyone to ensure we run the business with sustainability at the forefront of our minds.
What inspired you to pursue a career in sustainability, and what fuels your passion for protecting our planet?
AB: While I do not consider myself to have a career in sustainability, my young adult children keep me focused on creating infrastructure that leaves the planet in a good or better place than I found it. As they have grown, we’ve had many conversations about my career in telecom infrastructure and the benefits of the technology we’ve built and the drawbacks of building it in an unsustainable manner. This is the only planet we are going to get, so while we all love technological innovation, we must do all we can to build it in a way that doesn’t take away from surroundings.
What’s one project or initiative you’re particularly proud of being a part of, and how has it impacted you?
AB: So far, the initiative that speaks to me the most is our water neutrality discussions and focus. I’ve learned a great deal from the passionate people in that industry about small and medium size projects to repair and reinvigorate the rivers and waterways in regions around our US data centers. I’ve always loved water activities and to know that I can help EdgeConneX can help improve watersheds around the country is something which makes me proud.
Josette Suarez, Power and Sustainability Analyst
Describe your role at EdgeConneX and your responsibilities as part of the sustainability team.
JS: As a Power and Sustainability Analyst, my job encompasses contracts and services related to Power at our sites. I also compile sustainability reports for companies, customers, financial loans, and certifications. Water is the other part of my job, and we are working on a key project that we can talk more about at the end of the year!
What inspired you to pursue a career in sustainability, and what fuels your passion for protecting our planet?
JS: I have always been a ‘treehugger’. I want there to be a world for the next generation, and if we don’t do our part, there may not be something to pass on to them. My hope is that we can pass on a cleaner, healthier world than we inherited.
What’s one project or initiative you’re particularly proud of being a part of, and how has it impacted you?
JS: I am very excited to share the water projects we have been working on and will be finalizing soon. More to come!
If you could share one simple tip or action for others to help care for the planet, what would it be and why?
JS: Unplug and power down what you’re not using. This can reduce consumption by an estimated 10% per household because if it’s plugged in, there’s a chance it’s a phantom user.
What does Earth Day mean to you personally, and how does it connect to the work you do every day?
JS: Earth Day should be celebrated every day of the year. Our planet is a lifeline that needs to be nurtured and celebrated for all it provides us. I advocate for the planet inside and outside of the office. It’s why I have this job. The data center sector is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, and I want to make a difference where I can.
Raj Chudgar, Chief Power Officer
Describe your role at ECX and your responsibilities as part of the sustainability team.
RC: I am ultimately in charge of sustainability for ECX and its affiliates. That said, my role as I see it is to make sure we have all the right resources and capabilities to accomplish our short-term and long-term goals.
How do you contribute to EdgeConneX environmental initiatives?
RC: I aim to provide strategic direction and oversight on what we do, how we do it, and how it will impact us and our customers worldwide.
What inspired you to pursue a career in sustainability?
RC: I have been in the power and sustainability space for a long time and what inspired me was the knowledge that power is a necessity for the continued growth of our planet. We need power to do most of the things that we do, but we need to do this in a way that does not destroy our planet.
What fuels your passion for protecting our planet?
RC: That it is the right thing to do as we are all together on this planet and it is our only planet!!
Without having a path to a sustainable future, I am not sure if one day there will be a future for humankind on the planet. My belief is that by always thinking about sustainable solutions we are building a future for our next number of generations to come.
If you could share one simple tip or action for others to help care for the planet, what would it be and why?
RC: Always think about small things that could impact the planet and what you can do to minimize that impact. Every small thing can make a difference.
Alex Dymersky, Power and Sustainability Manager
What inspired you to pursue a career in sustainability, and what fuels your passion for protecting our planet?
AD: I love being outdoors, whether fishing, hiking, or caving, and I want to do what I can to preserve our natural resources.
Why do you believe sustainability efforts are essential for our industry and future generations?
AD: If you don’t do things sustainably, then, in essence, you are doing them unsustainably. And then our resources and our way of life will not be available in the future, impacting future generations, which is not an option.
What’s one project or initiative you’re particularly proud of being a part of, and how has it impacted you?
AD: Helping to achieve 100% renewable power for ECX’s data center footprint usage.
If you could share one simple tip or action for others to help care for the planet, what would it be and why?
AD: Try to understand your footprint first, which will put things into perspective. Start by considering the different impacts and cost savings of what you can do yourself in terms of conserving resources, not polluting, and preserving land, and then expand from there.
A Collective Focus
We honor Earth Day 2025 and are inspired by the collective progress made through sustainable innovation and teamwork. At EdgeConneX, we know real change is driven by passionate individuals committed to making a difference. By embedding sustainability into our core values, we meet our customers’ needs and take meaningful steps toward preserving our planet for generations to come. With your support, we can continue building a world where people, progress, and the environment thrive.
Download the People Behind the Progress InfoGraphic HERE.
To learn more, please visit: https://www.edgeconnex.com/company/sustainability/