The Green Building Initiative launches a certification specific to digital infrastructure in partnership with Compass Datacenters
The Green Building Initiative (GBI) has officially launched the Green Globes Data Center Campus Certification, a new tool designed to assess and certify the sustainability of data center campuses with multiple buildings. Developed in collaboration with Compass Datacenters, this initiative addresses the growing need to integrate environmental criteria into critical and energy-intensive digital infrastructures.
The new certification allows data center operators to take a holistic and efficient approach to sustainability assessment in sites with redundant infrastructures, helping to improve environmental performance in a unified manner.
Sustainability for the digital infrastructure of the future
As explained by Vicki Worden, CEO of GBI, “digital infrastructure is the backbone of today’s society, and it is essential to design, build, and operate it with sustainability at its core.” The campus certification facilitates this goal: optimizing the environmental impact of all the buildings that make up a data center, without the need to manage isolated assessments for each structure.
This initiative comes at a time of rapid expansion in the sector. Compass Datacenters, recently named one of the fastest-growing companies in America by Financial Times, has been a key partner in developing the new standard. Its campuses in Dallas, Phoenix, Chicago, and Mississippi will be the first to initiate the certification process under this new model.
Streamlined certification tailored to the sector
The Green Globes Data Center Campus Certification is based on a flexible, transparent model supported by third-party on-site assessment. It is designed for campuses of at least three newly constructed buildings, with up to 18 months of occupancy or fewer than 12 months of continuous energy data.
Among its main features and benefits are:
- Comprehensive campus assessment: considers the collective performance of multiple buildings with shared infrastructures.
- Unified process: allows for the reuse of documentation and questionnaires across structures within the same campus.
- Ongoing support: includes the assignment of a Green Globes evaluator for the entire project, if possible.
- Reduced costs: offers discounts on registration, technical reviews, audits, and travel.
- Public recognition: provides plaques, customized press releases, and social media promotion.
- Practical recommendations: improvement reports prepared by the assigned evaluator.
A step beyond energy efficiency
The certification evaluates multiple attributes, including energy and water efficiency, site impact, emissions reduction, material selection, and resilience. Furthermore, it can facilitate access to financial incentives and contribute to compliance with local sustainability regulations.
Amy Marks, senior vice president of Innovation at Compass Datacenters, emphasized that “by standardizing our campuses, we reduce digital, procedural, and physical waste, enabling us to scale faster. This certification allows us to apply that same efficient approach to sustainability.”
Access and requirements
To qualify for the campus certification, interested parties must hold a GBI organizational membership at the Stewardship level or higher and have completed an initial consultation with the organization. The option to certify existing buildings will also be available soon.
With this new certification, GBI aims to lead the sustainable transformation of the data center sector, providing operators and developers with an effective tool to meet the environmental expectations of regulators, investors, and local communities.
via: gbi