AWS, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Others Call for Adoption of Environmental Product Declarations to Reduce Scope 3 Emissions in Data Center Industry
July 18, 2024
The Governing Body of the iMasons Climate Accord - a coalition of companies focused on carbon reduction in digital infrastructure - is calling for greater transparency with Scope 3 emissions reporting for all suppliers serving data centers as part of its broader efforts to reduce the industry's carbon footprint.
To achieve this, the Governing Body - comprised of larger digital infrastructure companies such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Schneider Electric - released an open letter promoting the widespread adoption of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).
“Reducing our emissions is Meta’s top priority to reach net zero emissions across our value chain in 2030. We join our peers in calling for greater transparency in the data center supply chain to better understand the embodied carbon of the infrastructure that underpins our operations. These declarations will play an important role in accelerating decarbonization efforts for the data centers of tomorrow,” said Rachel Peterson, VP of Infrastructure Data Centers at Meta.
EPDs are standardized, third-party-verified documents that report on a product's greenhouse gas emissions throughout its lifecycle, from the raw materials in the product (such as how they are extracted and processed) to manufacturing, transportation, product use, and product end-of-life.
While a growing number of local, state, and federal procurement policies request EPDs in a variety of industries, widespread adoption has been slow to take hold with data centers. The Governing Body's open letter calls for a significant push forward from the world's largest hyperscalers and digital infrastructure companies, along with trusted suppliers, in order to create meaningful impacts across the industry.
For example, while many hyperscalers have strategies in place to reduce or mitigate Scope 1 and 2 emissions, Scope 3 is often an undervalued component despite representing 38-69% of a data center's total carbon footprint.
“EPDs are crucial in transforming the future of digital infrastructure to be more resilient and climate positive. The adoption of EPDs within the global supply chain fosters both sustainable and accountable outcomes. As standardized and verified data provides a layer of transparency, this initiative supports a collective approach to reducing our carbon emissions and environmental footprints,” said Miranda Gardiner, Executive Director of the iMasons Climate Accord.
By learning to access the critical information EPDs require, data center owners, operators, and end-users can be empowered to effectively calculate their environmental impact and choose products and services based on lower Scope 3 emissions.
