The European Commission wants to ensure transparency of information on the actual use of resources such as energy and water by data centers, proposing today a common classification for the entire European Union (EU).
With the common classification system proposed today, the Commission aims to contribute to making resource use by data centers more transparent and to support their sustainable integration into the European energy system.
The classification system, according to a statement from the European executive, will cover individual data centers with a capacity exceeding 500 kilowatts (kW).
The EU intends to triple its data center capacity over the next five to seven years, which leads to greater energy use, potentially placing additional pressure on electrical networks and the use of natural resources, such as water, and contributing to higher carbon emissions. To limit these impacts, it is essential that data centers be highly energy- and water-efficient and be integrated in a sustainable way into the energy system, the Commission argues.
The classification will also cover the data centers’ contribution to the grid, such as the reuse of residual heat, the addition of capacities for producing clean energy, as well as flexibility.
As an example, Brussels notes that the reuse of around half of all residual heat from European data centers equates to the total heating demand of four million households in Europe.
The first sustainability labels for individual data centers are due to be presented in 2027.
A first review of the regime is planned by the end of 2028 in order to assess its effectiveness.
