How whole life carbon emissions assessments will reshape data centres

Overview

This 2022 opinion piece by Arup's UK, India, Middle East and Africa data centre leader argues that whole life carbon assessment (WLCA) should become a core decision metric alongside capex and opex. It is freely available. Its starting point is that many assessments leave out mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems and external works, even though Arup finds MEP can dominate data centre embodied carbon.

High-emission items named are data hall racks, plant and refrigerant gantry structures, fuel tanks and substations. The piece also lists barriers: low awareness in delivery teams, no agreed scope standard, weak regulation and poor product carbon data. It points out that a single reference design can give very different carbon results in different countries, because of construction practice, grid intensity and data gaps.

The author recommends recording all assumptions and data sources so that assessments can be reviewed and updated, and notes that carbon reductions often reduce material quantity and therefore cost as well. The document is an opinion piece; it gives no calculation method or numerical result, but it is a practical warning on scope and data transparency.

Key points

1. Many WLCAs omit MEP systems and external works, yet Arup finds MEP can dominate data centre embodied carbon.
2. High-emission items: data hall racks, plant and refrigerant gantry structures, fuel tanks and substations.
3. The same reference design yields different carbon results by country because of construction practice, grid intensity and data gaps.
4. Barriers: low awareness, no agreed scope standard, weak regulation, poor product carbon data.
5. Record all assumptions and data sources so assessments can be reviewed and updated.
6. Carbon reductions often reduce material quantity and therefore also cost.
7. Related references: EN 15978, RICS Whole life carbon assessment for the built environment.

Using it in design

• Include MEP items (generators, fuel tanks, UPS, switchgear, chillers, substations) in embodied-carbon estimates, not only structure.
• Record the carbon factor source and region for each item.
• Flag when a reused reference design is moved to a region with different factors.

Who should read it

Designers, investors and project managers setting data centre sustainability targets.

Related standards

• EN 15978
• RICS Whole life carbon assessment for the built environment

Publication details

Authors

Gareth Williams

Publisher

Arup

Year

2022

Document language

English

Source type

Expert / community

Access

Free to read

Licence

Copyright retained; citation only — the publisher’s terms apply to the original document

Citation