Intelligent CIO North America Issue 20 | Page 83

FINAL WORD decade . However , the increased need for digitization due to the COVID-19 pandemic , coupled with more people working from home and growing awareness of how technology is impacting the environment , has caused many businesses , both in and outside of the industry , to focus on reducing carbon emissions . business sustainability is mandatory and environmental consciousness is important .
What level of responsibility do data center leaders have in reducing their facility ’ s carbon footprint ?
People are also realizing that to meet the needs of digitization , you need to build more and more digital infrastructure . And , of course , when you build more infrastructure , the need for it to become more sustainable is even greater .
There are certain studies which highlight how important sustainability has become in terms of decision-making . Last year , for example , 451 did a study focused on the data center colocation providers , which highlighted that 44 % of customers expect efficiency and sustainability .
It ’ s an important question and professionals within industry have a key responsibility to reduce their carbon footprint . Studies show that globally , data centers are responsible for between 1 % to 2 % of the world ' s electricity usage , and this is almost equal to the airline industry ’ s carbon emissions . Because the need for digitalization has risen so much in the last year and a half , it means more data centers need to be built .
Hence there is a need for the industry to build more data centers in an extremely sustainable fashion . That ’ s why data centers play a very important role .
Another study by HP focused on employers and the data showed that 61 % of employers really believe that
Our study with 451 Research also found that 97 % of providers ’ customers are asking for contractual
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