Meta 2025 Environmental Data Index (data center PUE and WUE)
Meta
Meta's annual data tables with fleet-level data centre electricity use, PUE, water withdrawal and WUE for 2020-2024.
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Overview
Meta's annual environmental data tables cover fleet-level data centre electricity use, PUE, water withdrawal and WUE for 2020-2024. PUE was 1.10 in 2020, 1.09 in 2021 and 1.08 in 2022-2024. Meta's owned data centres report PUE of about 1.08 and WUE below 0.2 L/kWh. The series shows a hyperscale operator improving slowly and then levelling off. The PUE has been flat at 1.08 since 2022.
The WUE series shows a clearer improvement: 0.30 in 2020, 0.26 in 2021, 0.20 in 2022, 0.18 in 2023 and 0.19 in 2024 L/kWh. WUE here is defined as water withdrawal (L) divided by IT electricity load (kWh), so it is withdrawal-based, not consumption-based. The small rise from 2023 to 2024 shows the improvement is not linear. A withdrawal-based WUE reads higher than a consumption-based value for systems that return water, so comparisons need the same definition.
The scale data illustrate growth: total electricity consumption went from 7,170,000 MWh in 2020 to 18,423,634 MWh in 2024 (about 2.6 times), and total water withdrawal from 3,726 ML to 5,637 ML. Efficiency held steady while absolute use grew fast. The tables are company statements, and the withdrawal-based WUE definition can differ from the site water use definition in ISO/IEC 30134-9.
Key points
- Data centre PUE: 1.10 (2020), 1.09 (2021), 1.08 (2022-2024).
- Annual WUE: 0.30 (2020), 0.26 (2021), 0.20 (2022), 0.18 (2023), 0.19 (2024) L/kWh.
- WUE = water withdrawal (L) / IT electricity load (kWh).
- Total electricity consumption 7,170,000 MWh (2020) -> 18,423,634 MWh (2024).
- Total water withdrawal 3,726 ML (2020) -> 5,637 ML (2024).
Using it in design
- Take hyperscale best-in-class WUE of about 0.2 L/kWh (withdrawal basis) and PUE of about 1.08 as benchmarks.
- In the WUE calculator let users choose withdrawal or consumption basis and label the result.
- Meta and Microsoft use withdrawal-based WUE while ISO/IEC 30134-9 defines site water use; state in the report which one applies.
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Who should read it
Engineers seeking external benchmarks for WUE and PUE targets and sustainability reporters.
Related standards
- ISO/IEC 30134-2
- ISO/IEC 30134-9
Publication details
- Authors
- Meta
- Publisher
- Meta
- Year
- 2025
- 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
Meta (2025). Meta 2025 Environmental Data Index (data center PUE and WUE). Meta. https://sustainability.atmeta.com/asset/2025-environmental-data-index
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Related sources
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European Commission, DG Energy 2025
Assessment of the energy performance and sustainability of data centres in EU - First technical report (July 2025)
Compare your design PUE target with the real EU spread: 1.21 on average above 10 MW, 1.55 at 1-2 MW; set a realistic bound for your facility size.
- Rule of thumb cited: PUE below 1.2 excellent, 1.2-1.5 good, above 1.5 room for improvement.
European Commission (Official Journal of the European Union) 2024
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364 of 14 March 2024 on the first phase of the establishment of a common Union rating scheme for data centres
Build the metering architecture to the regulation: meters on every supply input for total energy (grid and back-up generator separately) and at every UPS output for IT energy, with a system that retains measurement point and device records for at least 10 years.
- Data centre electricity demand is projected to reach 3.2% of total EU demand by 2030, a 28% increase over 2018.
Open Compute Project Foundation 2024
Data Center Facility Sustainability Metrics (OCP Data Center Facility white paper, October 2, 2024)
Build the metering plan so that PUE can be reported at the highest category possible, with IT load measured at PDU or equipment input rather than the UPS output where feasible.
- External reporting is annual (required) and quarterly on a trailing 12 months (recommended); internal tracking should be continuous or monthly.
arXiv preprint 2026
The fallacy of sustainable Generative AI: limitations in EU environmental regulation of data centres and paths forward
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Digital Realty 2025
Digital Realty: Sustainability (portfolio PUE and renewable coverage)
Use portfolio PUE of about 1.38-1.4 as the benchmark for multi-tenant colocation (against hyperscale about 1.1 and industry about 1.54).
- Portfolio PUE 1.38.
Schneider Electric 2025
10 Data Center Sustainability Improvements Quantified by Environmental Impact
In the sustainability panel compute operational CO2e = IT MWh x PUE x grid EF, with a grid-EF catalog by country/region (default US 454 kg CO2e/MWh incl. upstream) and a renewable-PPA toggle.
- Total GHG falls from 84,100 to 11,300 t CO2e (-87%).