Top 10: Data Centre Energy Leaders
Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword in the data centre sector—it’s a driving force behind meaningful change. As AI and other transformative technologies demand ever-increasing amounts of energy and water, data centre operators face mounting pressure to address their environmental footprint and energy useage.
In response, forward-thinking companies are developing innovative solutions and adopting cutting-edge systems to make sustainability a core priority. These trailblazers are not only reducing emissions but also setting new standards for responsible growth in a rapidly evolving industry.
Discover the top 10 energy leaders who are shaping the future of sustainable data centres.
10. GDS Holdings
HQ: Shanghai, China
CEO: William Huang
Revenue: RMB10,322.1 million/US$1,414.1m (2024)
GDS is a prominent developer and operator of high-performance data centers in China. The company provides a variety of mission-critical data center services, such as colocation, managed hosting and managed cloud solutions.
Amid rapid growth in AI and innovation within China’s data center sector, GDS Holdings saw a significant increase in net revenue in 2023 and remains dedicated to offering carrier-neutral services. With 38% of its data center portfolio powered by renewable energy, GDS demonstrates a strong commitment to sustainability and many of its facilities have earned green certifications.
9. CyrusOne
HQ: Texas, US
CEO: Eric Schwartz
Revenue: Not listed
CyrusOne specialises in meeting the requirements of business and enterprise customers by providing comprehensive colocation services. Leveraging its sophisticated network and cloud infrastructure, CyrusOne enables seamless direct interconnections designed to enhance both efficiency and performance.
The company is actively growing its international presence, with a strong focus on scaling data centres sustainably. In Europe, CyrusOne has already achieved 100% renewable energy usage across its operations and is now committed to improving the energy efficiency of its data centres globally.
CyrusOne was a founding member of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact.
8. KDDI / Telehouse
HQ: Tokyo, Japan (KDDI)
CEO: Makoto Takahashi (KDDI)
Revenue: US$39.25bn (KDDI, 2024)
Telehouse, the data centre brand of KDDI Group, drives digital transformation by connecting enterprise clients with a wide range of service providers. Its London Docklands campus, the company’s inaugural data centre, continues to serve as the main hub for the London Internet Exchange.
Renowned for its advanced colocation services, Telehouse operates Europe’s most densely connected data centre ecosystem, featuring top internet exchanges, cloud providers, ISPs, and ASPs.
Telehouse is committed to reaching net zero CO₂ emissions across its data centre operations by 2026, with current sites already utilising energy-efficient cooling systems. KDDI also targets 100% renewable energy use in all global data centres by the close of fiscal year 2025.
7. Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
HQ: Mountain View, US
CEO: Sundar Pichai
Revenue: US$84.74bn (Google, 2024)
Google is actively growing its global network of data centres, scouting multiple locations worldwide to build interconnected facilities that meet the surging demand driven by digital transformation.
Although the company faced criticism over rising emissions in 2024, Google remains focused on sustainability within its data centres. Google Cloud, in particular, is pursuing an ambitious target to run entirely on 24/7 carbon-free energy across its worldwide data centre operations by 2030, while also maintaining a strong commitment to responsible water usage.
6. Meta
HQ: Menlo Park, US
CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
Revenue: US$164.5bn (2024)
Meta’s data centres form a crucial part of the company’s worldwide infrastructure, powering its technologies and services. Driven by an updated sustainability strategy, Meta runs its data centres entirely on renewable energy and prioritises water conservation and restoration, with an ambitious goal to become water positive by 2030 — restoring more water than it uses.
Looking ahead to 2025, Meta has revealed plans for a massive 2GW data centre, set to span a large portion of Manhattan and accelerate AI-driven digital transformation.
5. NTT Global Data Centers
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
CEO: Douglas Adams
Revenue: Not listed
NTT Global Data Centers ranks among the world’s largest data centre operators, managing more than 150 facilities in 20 countries. The company delivers both local and global expertise, leveraging a connected network of AI-ready data centres to provide scalable, flexible solutions.
Sustainability is a growing focus for NTT, which has set an ambitious target to achieve net zero emissions across its operations and value chain by 2040. In 2023, NTT reduced its emissions by 25% and boosted its use of renewable energy by 42%.
4. Equinix
HQ: California, US
CEO: Adaire Fox-Martin
Revenue: US$8.7bn (2024)
Equinix specialises in retail colocation, serving numerous clients with modest power needs in shared data halls. The company is also strengthening its sustainability leadership through its Future First strategy, highlighting a lasting commitment to minimising environmental impact while offering efficient digital infrastructure solutions.
“In 2024, we remained true to our commitments around sustainability and operational excellence, delivering greater than five nines of uptime for our customers and improving our power usage effectiveness (PUE) by more than 6%,” shares company CEO Adaire Fox-Martin.
“We also achieved our seventh consecutive year of greater than 90% renewable energy coverage and executed 370 megawatts of new power purchase agreements (PPAs).”
3. Digital Realty
HQ: Texas, US
CEO: Andy Power
Revenue: US$5.5bn (2024)
Under Andy Power’s leadership as CEO, Digital Realty continues to drive innovation by adopting advanced technologies that support cloud computing and hybrid IT infrastructure. The company has reached a milestone of 1GW in certified sustainable IT capacity, with a significant share of its energy usage in the US and Europe coming from renewable sources.
Digital Realty’s data centers are engineered to minimise the use of construction materials while achieving top-tier Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), helping clients reduce both their carbon footprint and operational expenses.
To date, Digital Realty has certified more than 13 million square feet of its facilities under green building standards, reinforcing its commitment to sustainability and efficient design.
2. Microsoft Azure
HQ: Washington, US
CEO: Satya Nadella
Revenue: US$261.8bn (Microsoft, 2024)
Microsoft Azure operates more than 200 data centre facilities worldwide, interconnected by more than 175,000 miles of fibre optic cabling. Many organisations have leveraged Azure to drive their data centre modernisation efforts.
Since 2012, Azure, as part of Microsoft, has maintained 100% carbon neutrality, balancing its annual carbon emissions with equivalent removals. The company is targeting 100% renewable energy use by 2025, aims to be water positive and achieve zero waste by 2030, and seeks to prevent net deforestation from new construction projects.
1. Amazon Web Services (AWS)
HQ: Washington, US
CEO: Matt Garman
Revenue: US$107.56bn (2024)
Consistently recognised as a top data centre provider, AWS is dedicated to advancing innovative strategies that enhance the sustainability of its data centres and hyperscale facilities.
When constructing new data centres, AWS aims to strike the ideal balance between energy efficiency and water conservation. Notably, the latest components in AWS data centre designs are expected to cut mechanical energy use by up to 46%, lower the embodied carbon in concrete by 35% and achieve a power usage effectiveness (PUE) as low as 1.08.
In 2023, AWS reported a global average PUE of 1.15 across its data centres.
Disclosure: This article was produced in partnership with AVK, provider of prime and standby energy solutions for data centres. The editorial content was independently developed by the Data Centre Magazine and Energy Digital team.
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