INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE POWERED BY THE DCA
INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE POWERED BY THE DCA
From cradle to cradle –
Creating a Circular Economy for the
data centre industry
Digital innovation has meant business approaches and
capabilities have needed to adapt to transform, and the data
centre industry has been an enabler for rapid growth. Deborah
Andrews, London South Bank University, discusses how
data centre leaders can ensure they contribute to a Circular
Economy in today’s transforming technology sphere.
The Internet and World Wide Web
as we know it were introduced to
the public in 1989; the services
offered by this digital communication
technology have proved so popular that
during the past 30 years engagement
has grown at an astonishing rate and
4.2 billion people (55% of the global
population) are now ‘connected’. This
rapid growth was of course enabled by
concurrent development and expansion
of the data centre industry, which will
continue throughout the coming decade
and by 2025, for example, the sector
will grow by 300% in Europe with global
growth of 500% by 2030.
The combination of increasing reliance
on and rapid expansion mean that to
date, the data centre industry has focused
on operational factors and provision of
ever faster, 100% uninterrupted service;
consequently, consideration of many
factors other than operational energy
efficiency have been marginalised. For
example most DC equipment is designed
for a linear economy – i.e. from cradleto-grave
– a take, make, use, dispose
system which excludes regard for what
happens to products when they reach
end of life. Products are not designed
for easy disassembly and separation of
components, which makes refurbishment
and recycling difficult in some cases and
impossible in others. Equipment also
includes components that are unique
to the various generations and models,
which prohibits interchangeability and
limits reuse.
Consequently, the data centre industry
contributes to WEEE (waste electrical
and electronic equipment), which is
currently the fastest growing global waste
stream, and every year millions of tonnes
of resources are wasted. In addition to
rapid growth in the number and variety
of electrical and electronic products on
the market, WEEE growth is compounded
by the lack of investment in and
development of appropriate collection
and recycling infrastructures.
WEEE includes a number of CRM
(Critical Raw Materials); these materials
are defined as ‘critical’ because the
unmined reserves are very limited, they
are located in geo-politically sensitive
areas, substitution with other materials
is currently impossible and recycling
and reclamation rates are very low for
some materials and non-existent in
others. They are also of high economic
and technical significance and although
the volume and mass of CRM per data
centre product is miniscule, electronics
cannot function without them. Therefore,
any shortages due to factors such
as ring-fencing reserves and political
instability will disrupt the supply chain
www.intelligentdatacentres.com Issue 19
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