Austrian Ecolabel UZ 80: The path to more climate-friendly data centres

In terms of energy consumption, data centres are not comparable to conventional office buildings, but to a factory. The negative impact on the climate is increasing due to the enormous growth in data processing. This challenge is not only alarming in Austria: worldwide, the energy consumption of data centres is expected to increase by 28% to 98.5 terawatt hours of electrical energy by 2030, which will ultimately be converted into heat from an energy perspective.

However, there is a valuable opportunity here: the waste heat generated by data centres could, for example, be fed into the municipal heating network or used to heat buildings and the like – provided there are suitable consumers. This would not only reduce energy consumption in the area of reuse, but also improve the energy efficiency of the data centre site. The so-called “Energy Reuse Factor” (ERF), which is an essential environmental key performance indicator (KPI) for data centres, expresses this (see also: EN 50600-4-6 “Data centre facilities and infrastructures – Energy reuse factor”).

Ensuring business success and climate protection with the UZ 80

The implementation of the publicly accessible requirements in the UZ 80 guideline for data centres offers operators of data centre locations the opportunity to manage the operation of their “data processing factories” in an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly manner. The same applies to IT customers at such a data centre location. In addition, the official Austrian Ecolabel for data centres can also be obtained through an audit and positive expert opinion by an accredited inspection body, thus making the energy-efficient and climate-friendly orientation of the data centre operation visible to the outside world. Complying with the new directive therefore not only means securing a competitive advantage on the market, but the awarded eco-label also provides customers with a valuable guide for selecting sustainable and energy-efficient data centre service providers.

In addition to ecolabel certification, international standards such as ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 provide a valuable framework for sustainable development. ISO 14001 helps data centres to continuously improve their environmental performance, while ISO 50001 aims to increase energy efficiency. These certifications complement each other perfectly and create a solid foundation for a climate-friendly future.

“It is high time to introduce energy-efficient and verifiably climate-friendly concepts for data centres in order to be fit for the future. Obtaining the Austrian Environmental Label for Data Centres (UZ 80) offers data centre operators the perfect basis for a long-term and sustainable strategy,” emphasises Peter Wörgötter from CIS.
CIS is listed with selected auditors as an approved inspection body for obtaining the Austrian Ecolabel for data centres.