Pulsant: Setting the Bar in Working Towards Energy Targets
When it comes to Pulsant’s energy initiatives, the digital edge infrastructure and data centre provider is ahead of our targets to date. But this doesn’t mean the company is complacent.
The brand is focusing in on three key areas — procuring greener power, greening the supply chain and improving consumption data — in a demonstration of its persistence and dedication to striving for more and committing to it.
Boasting strong improvements to energy efficiency results at the end of 2023, Helen Munro, Pulsant’s Head of Environment and Sustainability, attributed this mainly to infrastructure upgrades and consolidation, as well as the ongoing efforts of the teams across its sites.
“With infrastructure power consumption down 9% and plans to reach 1.495 in 2024, we're on a good trajectory,” she shares. “In the coming year, energy consumption will be further reduced by moves to migrate older platforms to our new cloud environment.”
Despite celebrating Pulsant’s achievements, Munro acknowledges the wider, global picture — a bleak comparison as greenhouse gas emissions are still projected to remain high based on Paris Agreement goals of keeping the global temperature rise this century below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and further to 1.5°C.
She continues: “This is a reminder to us all that we cannot become complacent. We have to look wider than our direct footprint: our influence has to stretch across our entire value chain to drive greener business processes at every touch point. In particular, there are three areas I see requiring particular focus now for us as a business: renewable energy procurement, supplier engagement and consumption data transparency.”
Navigating energy efficiency
Munro notes three points of note as Pulsant moves to a more energy efficient and environmentally-conscious future, points others can carry forward in their own journeys.
- Supply of renewable energy: Although Pulsant currently purchases energy through a supplier tariff, more direct ways of supporting new renewable assets exist, such as signing power purchase agreements (PPAs) which can provide long-term contracted pricing, enabling the locking in of competitive electricity rates and reducing exposure to market price volatility. It can help provide a clear path for achieving our energy and carbon reduction goals, and directly support new renewable generation capacity.
- Engaging suppliers on decarbonisation: Something Munro admits is a tough job, despite many setting science-based targets, progress reducing emissions remains slow. She calls for business to appreciate that despite worldwide renewable energy growth, many goods are manufactured in regions with continuing high use of coal-fired power stations, and for real change to be actioned across supply chains.
- Better visibility of power consumption data: Clearer feedback loops with more granular consumption data could help clients understand how their choices impact energy use as well as greenhouse gas emissions, Munro suggests. We are looking at this opportunity and considering ways to enable reporting improvements in this area.
Munro concluded: “In 2024, decarbonisation strategies have to become a core priority and we all need to start to communicate impacts more openly and transparently. The challenges ahead are undoubtedly complex. But by focusing on renewable procurement, supplier engagement and data transparency, we can stretch our influence further.
“Sustainability is a marathon not a sprint — and there are still many miles ahead of us — but the strides we've already made prove we're heading in the right direction. We are learning as we go, but maintaining an open mind focused on continuous improvement is key, as every business needs to realise it has a part to play in slowing the impact of climate change.”
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