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Appendix This appendix provides further explanations of terms and concepts mentioned in
the body of this paper.

GHG emissions
Greenhouse gas (GHG) means “any of the various gaseous compounds that absorb
infrared radiation, trap heat in the atmosphere, and contribute to the greenhouse ef-
fect” 17. According to the “Framework Convention on Climate Change” and “Kyoto
Protocol”, there are six main greenhouse gases: Carbon dioxide (CO2); Methane
(CH4); Perfluorocarbons (PFCs); Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); Nitrous oxide (N2O);
Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).

According to the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064, there are three GHG emission cate-
gories including Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 (as shown in Figure A1).

• Scope 1 - Direct GHG emissions: All direct emissions within the operational
control of an organization.
• Scope 2 - Energy indirect GHG emissions: Indirect emissions generated
from purchased electricity, heat, steam, or cooling.
• Scope 3 - Other indirect GHG emissions: All other indirect emissions from
sources such as business travel, waste management, and the value chain.

Scope 1 emissions are the most straightforward to calculate, while Scope 3 data is
more difficult to attain. Scope 2 carbon emissions can generally be provided by
your utility company. Based on Carbon Intelligence research, over 80% of a com-
pany’s emissions are Scope 3. But for data centers, which are energy intensive,
Scope 3 emissions are closer to 50% over the lifetime of the data center. As data for
Scope 3 is still developing, we have identified this as a Leading metric.

Figure A1
3 categories of GHG
emissions from an
organization SCOPE 1
DIRECT EMISSIONS
EMISSION SOURCE: All direct emissions within the SCOPE 3
operational control of an organization. INDIRECT EMISSIONS
EMISSION SOURCE: All other indirect emissions
from sources such as business travel, waste
management, and the value chain.

SCOPE 2
INDIRECT EMISSIONS
EMISSION SOURCE: Indirect emissions generated
from purchased electricity, heat, steam or cooling.
I t l

Based on the above categories, GHG emissions from a data center are not only
from their own operations and electricity consumption, but also from the goods data
centers purchase. GHG emissions (Scope 3) may include the indirect emissions

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from sources such as travel, waste management, and the value chain of a data cen-
ter. For example, the emissions may include data center construction (purchased
goods and services); employee commuting (cars, buses, etc.); business travel
(flight, train, rental cars, hotels, etc.).

Circular economy
“A circular economy is based on the principles of eliminating waste and pollution,
circulating products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerating nature”
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. For data centers, circular economy is
one of the most impactful levers to reduce Scope 3 supply chain emissions illus-
trated in Figure A1. People tend to think of circular economy as recycling to lower
supply chain emissions. But there are other considerations:

• What is the plan to maintain and prolong your equipment? In general, the
longer it lasts, the lower its carbon footprint. However, if equipment is very in-
efficient and your utility emission factor is high, it may actually be better to re-
place it with more efficient equipment.
• Can it be reused when it can no longer be maintained?
• Can I remanufacture / reuse / redistribute it?

Figure A2 demonstrates a 4-step process of product design for circular economy.

Recycle

Re-manufacture
Figure A2
4 steps in a product
Reuse / re-distribute
design to help lower
waste from supply
chain Maintain &
prolong

Mining / minerals Manufacturing Distribution User

Gaining visibility into a vendor’s circular economy practices is important for a com-
pany’s environmental sustainability program and to determine its Scope 3 emis-
sions. Environmental product declaration (EPD) documents such as Product envi-
ronmental profiles (PEP), and life cycle assessment (LCA) reports are one approach
vendors can provide more transparency. Figure A3 shows an example of a PEP
document. This is becoming an increasingly important aspect of vendor selection.
For more information on this topic, see White Paper 70, Guide to Assess a Commer-
cial Product’s Sustainability.

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Figure A3
An example of a product
environmental profile
(PEP) document
(Schneider Galaxy VS
UPS shown)

Biodiversity
According to World Wildlife Fund (WWF), “Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life
you’ll find in one area - the variety of animals, plants, fungi, and even microorgan-
isms like bacteria that make up our natural world. Each of these species and organ-
isms work together in ecosystems, like an intricate web, to maintain balance and
support life. Biodiversity supports everything in nature that we need to survive:
food, clean water, medicine, and shelter.” 18 Another description of the importance
of biodiversity is from GRI 304 Standards, “Ensuring the survival of plant and animal
species, genetic diversity, and natural ecosystems. Biodiversity also contributes di-
rectly to local livelihoods, making it essential for achieving poverty reduction, and
thus sustainable development.” 19 Figure A4 illustrates four realms of biodiversity:
land, ocean, freshwater and atmosphere. Society and economy are embedded
within these four realms.

Land Ocean
Terrestrial (land-based) and Marine (ocean) and
subterranean-terrestrial subterranean
ecosystems marine ecosystems
Cultivated biological Cultivated biological
resources resources
Renewable energy resources Renewable energy resources
Mineral and energy Water resources
resources Underwater mineral and
Figure A4 Land resources energy resources

The realms of biodiversity Society

Business
Financial Institutions
Adapted from the Task- People
force on Nature-related Atmosphere
Financial Disclosures Atmospheric systems

Freshwater
Freshwater and
subterraneanfreshwater
ecosystems
Cultivated biological resources
Mineral and energy resources
Water resources

18
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19
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As the impacts on biodiversity attract more attention from governmental and non-
governmental organizations, we expect reporting to gain in popularity. For example,
in 2020 the EU released “Biodiversity Strategy for 2030” to protect nature and re-
verse the degradation of ecosystems 20.

Frameworks and standards for reporting and certifying

Frameworks and standards are used to help organizations measure and report on
sustainability. Frameworks provide general guidelines and are typically non-obliga-
tory, while standards can be adopted by jurisdictions and become obligatory.

Based on over ten years of Schneider Electric consulting experience, we have iden-
tified the 10 most relevant sustainability frameworks and standards for data center
environmental sustainability reporting and certifying around the world (as shown in
Table A5).

• Reporting: Similar to financial reporting, data center operators can use these
frameworks as guidance to provide qualitative and quantitative nonfinancial
information to assess their sustainability performance. For example, the Car-
bon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a popular framework to help large companies
integrate environmental information and business impacts into financial report-
ing.
• Certifying: These frameworks provide a means for organizations to certify their
sustainability improvements by meeting a minimum number of requirements or
points. For example, LEED is a well-known rating system for buildings to eval-
uate the environmental performance and encourage sustainable design.
Table A5
10 most relevant sustainability frameworks and standards for data center reporting and certifying

Applications Frameworks and standards Spectrum Attributes

• Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) • Corporate ESG indicators Standard
• Task Force on Climate-related Financial • Corporate climate-related financial Framework
Reporting (4) Disclosures (TCFD)
• Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) • Corporate GHG emissions, water Framework
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) • Climate Change, ESG indicators Framework
• Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) • Corporate emissions Initiative
• ENERGY STAR • Energy use in buildings and plants Framework
• ISO 50001: Energy Management System • Built environment assets Standard
• ASHRAE • Energy standard for building Standard
Certifying (6)
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design • Corporate building energy use Rating system
(LEED)
• Building Research Establishment Environmental • Corporate energy use Standard
Assessment Method (BREEAM)

Mapping metrics to frameworks and standards

Without this paper’s guidance, it can be difficult for data center operators to choose
the right guidelines for their organizations because no single Framework or stand-
ard covers all the metrics. This section simplifies the complexity of the many frame-
works available by mapping the metrics to the most relevant frameworks and stand-
ards. Even this shorter list may be overwhelming for some data center operators. In
these cases, we recommend using third-party consultant services experienced in

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the sustainability field, preferably with experience in data centers. Based on over
ten years of Schneider Electric consulting experience, we provide a matrix in Table
A6 showing the relationship between metrics, frameworks, and standards.

Table A6
Matrix between 28 key metrics, frameworks, and standards

Recommended
Metric categories Key metrics
frameworks / standards
• Total energy consumption • SASB
• Power usage effectiveness (PUE) • ISO/IEC 30134-2
• Total renewable energy consumption • RE100
Energy (6)
• Renewable energy factor (REF) • ISO/IEC 30134-3
• Energy Reuse Factor (ERF) • ISO/IEC 30134-6
• Server utilization (ITEUsv) • ISO/IEC 30134-5

• Scope 1
o GHG emissions • GHG Protocol or ISO 14064
• Scope 2
o Location-based GHG emissions • GHG Protocol or ISO 14064
o Market-based GHG emissions • GHG Protocol or ISO 14064
GHG emissions (7)
• Scope 3
o GHG emissions • GHG Protocol or ISO 14064
• Carbon usage effectiveness (CUE) • ISO/IEC 30134-8
• Total carbon offsets • N/A, see a White Paper on this topic
• Hour-by-hour supply and consumption matching • No frameworks or standards available
• Total site water usage • ISO/IEC 30134-9
• Total source energy water usage • No frameworks or standards available
Water (5) • Water usage effectiveness (WUE) • ISO/IEC 30134-9
• Water replenishment • N/A, see a White Paper on this topic
• Total water use in supply chain • No frameworks or standards available
• Waste generated
o Total waste • GRI 300: Environmental - 306
o E-waste • GRI 300: Environmental - 306
o Battery • GRI 300: Environmental – 306
Waste (6) • Waste diversion rate
o Total waste • GRI 300: Environmental – 306
o E-waste • GRI 300: Environmental – 306
• GRI 300: Environmental - 306
o Battery

• Land
o Total land use • No frameworks or standards available
Local ecosystem (4) o Land-use intensity • No frameworks or standards available
• Outdoor noise • No frameworks or standards available
• Mean species abundance (MSA) • N/A, see a White Paper on this topic.

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