Zero carbon, zero emissions, and zero waste

Susanna Kass, Energy Fellow, Stanford University, and Data Centre Advisor to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals program, interviewed by Alan Burkitt-Gray, from Capacity Media, explains the necessary steps to make the digital transformation really sustainable.

The transition the world is experiencing due to the Covid-19 pandemic has proved that data centers are critical to Digital Transformation Connected Everywhere Era. Nevertheless, it is imperative for the data center industry to find sustainable solutions to support its rapidly expanding growth.

“What is needed is a digital transformation, says Kass, with infrastructure able to help people ‘work, learn, live and play’. She adds that what is needed is ‘good, healthy sustainability’”.

The world is facing a double challenge, from a health and an environmental standpoint, and data centers can be part of the solution. But a shift of paradigm is first needed: the data center industry needs to embrace its social and environmental responsibility. “We take resources as if there were no limits. We are all living on one planet. We can’t take resources as if there is no limit”, points out Kass.

In this interview, by Alan Burkitt-Gray, from Capacity Media, Susanna Kass goes through her professional career and experiences and explains the deep connection between energy and climate change and how the data center industry can help reduce the climate crisis. “In the data center industry, many are pioneers with ambitious goals, including carbon negative goals. They genuinely want to take it seriously, to use clean energy. They want to stop using fossil fuels”, says Kass.

Click here to have access to the full interview.