The European Code of Conduct for Data Centres

Environmental responsibility is an increasingly important concern for all stakeholders. At TelecityGroup we recognise that whilst the services we provide are at the heart of the growth in the digital economy, we must ensure that we are being as efficient as possible in our use of energy. 

To this end, TelecityGroup is leading the industry by being the first network independent data centre to sign up to the new European Code of Conduct for Data Centres, a voluntary code which promotes the adoption of energy-efficient best practices amongst data centre owners and operators. We’ve already applied the Code to our data centres in Amsterdam and we are now driving through a programme to implement the initiative across the rest of our data centres in Europe. Here are some of the details behind the new initiative:

What is the EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres?

The European Union Joint Research Commission (EU-JRC) recently announced (Nov 2008) the launch of a new voluntary Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency.  The Code is a voluntary program with contribution from vendors, industry experts, researchers, data centre owners and operators from around the world.

What is the purpose of the Code?

The Code is designed to raise awareness of the opportunities for energy and cost efficiency within the industry and gives guidance on initiatives and changes that can be made to improve the efficiency of the data centre infrastructure, as well as the IT equipment. Other areas such as software selection and energy management practices are also addressed by the Code to help organisations understand and manage energy use across the full spectrum of data centre IT.

Who is the Code intended for?

The Code has been written to accommodate the full range of data centre operators from and includes anyone running IT devices (including telecoms devices) that are housed within a data centre. This means both TelecityGroup and its customers can independently gain ‘Participant’ status in the Code. TelecityGroup has a program running to enter all its data centres into the Code by the close of 2009.

What are the benefits of participation?

Using a data centre operator who is a participant in the Code, or even becoming a participant of the Code yourself, demonstrates your organisation’s commitment to energy efficiency in ICT systems. This can be a key part of a positioning strategy as the Code is an independent and broadly recognized standard for a sceptical market. Participant status within the Code is already being used as part of a wider selection criteria in procurement and as a major sustainability differentiator.

Who else in the industry is involved?

Whilst the Code was created in the EU it has global support from a broad range of organisations. Companies such as Microsoft, The Green Grid, Intel, BT, IBM, EMC, VMware and many others are actively involved either as participants, endorsers or both.

What effect does implementing the best practices have on a data centre?

Implementing the best practices enables operators such as us to minimise the energy wasted at all levels in the data centre. This means we can operate much more efficiently both in terms of energy and cost.

To ensure that our data centres maintain their reliability, energy and cost efficiency TelecityGroup has put in place a number of programs. For example, older facilities being migrated to hot and cold aisle have large information labels at the end of each aisle explaining to all on site staff how to follow the hot and cold aisle design.

TelecityGroup also actively assists the further development of the Code of Conduct via the British Computer Society’s Data Centre Specialist Group by providing feedback and input on each of the practices implemented within our data centres. This information helps to refine the next version of best practices and ensure that the Code progresses and continues to lead the industry.

Is there somewhere independent I can go to find out more?

Yes, the British Computer Society (BCS) - Data Centre Specialist Group are an independent industry body that can help. There are also training courses and personal certifications being developed by the BCS. To find out more, please visit http://dcsg.bcs.org

Where can I find the official Code of Conduct documents?

The Code and its supporting documents can all be downloaded from the EU JRC website at: http://sunbird.jrc.it/energyefficiency/html/standby_initiative_data%20centers.htm

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