SPREAD DIAMOND OR PLATINUM

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy can be a great tool for reducing carbon emissions. Numerous ways to leverage renewable sources include purchase plan agreements, renewable energy certificates, and migrating loads to cloud or colocation facilities committed to carbon-free operation. Some operators are looking at opportunities to power data centers through locally generated renewable power, which can be accomplished by matching renewable energy sources with fuel cells, systems that can produce clean hydrogen from renewable energy, and UPS systems with dynamic grid support capabilities.

First Steps for Data Center Sustainability Strategy

For organizations in the initial stages of planning long-term efficiency and sustainability goals, beginning such a journey can be daunting. Fortunately, Vertiv’s guide offers valuable first steps for reducing environmental impact, including: y Establishing Goals: Data center operators are embracing goals based on the vision of the net zero data center or adopting several of the pillars that make up that vision. According to Vertiv’s guide, a net zero data center typically encompasses: y Defining Frameworks and Metrics: Emissions will often be the primary target when establishing measurable goals for reducing environmental impact.

• Zero losses: Eliminating inefficiencies and maximizing utilization in data center systems.

• Zero carbon: Eliminating carbon emissions from the power consumed by data centers.

• Zero water waste: Eliminating the waste of water for data center operation.

• Zero waste: Eliminating the e-waste created by data center operations.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol provides standardized global frameworks that industry organizations and their value chain partners can use to understand, aggregate, quantify, and reduce emissions. Find more metrics and frameworks Online y Prioritizing Opportunities: Organizations looking to build out their sustainability approach can begin by evaluating existing data center systems and prioritizing opportunities based on goals and available technologies. As plans move forward, operators should continue to prioritize solutions that can achieve desired levels of continuity. Some priorities include increasing asset utilization, decreasing data center water usage, reusing data center heat, and reducing e-waste. managed services, especially for clientele requiring comprehensive operational controls for a number of commercial and government compliance standards.

The path toward a more sustainable data center is not paved by a single strategy or piece of technology and implementing these changes will be no easy feat for most organizations. The reduced costs, progress toward corporate goals, limited dependence on utilities, and lessened environmental impact from these initiatives can help create significant long-term value for an organization.

zColo acquisition brought Qorri on board

Then in September 2020 it acquired zColo’s data centre assets from Zayo Group Holdings, with these located in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and Denver. The deal means DataBank now offers secure colocation, connectivity, cloud, and managed services in 60 data centres in 28 key markets in the US and UK.

Such structured, strategic growth has put DataBank at the forefront of the edge infrastructure wave, enabling enterprises, hyperscalers, cloud, content, and software customers to move their mission-critical workloads and platforms closer to end-user populations in second-, third-, and fourthtier markets.

Crucially, these deals have seen DataBank acquire expertise along with infrastructure. One such addition is VP of Construction, Tony Qorri, who joined the company as part of the zColo deal.

So how does Qorri explain DataBank’s growth in the face of a shrinking tech market?

“Tech companies might be cutting their staff, but it's not because people aren’t using technology,” he says. “In fact, people’s

Tony Qorri

TITLE: VP OF CONSTRUCTION

COMPANY: DATABANK

Executive Bio

Tony Qorri joined DataBank as Vice President of Construction in December of 2021 with the responsibility of overall construction efforts on large construction projects as well as customer fit-out projects. Qorri came to Databank as part of the DataBank acquisition of Zayo's colocation division, zColo, where he served as Director of Construction for 7 years. Prior to Qorri's tenure at Zayo, he worked for a General Contracting / Construction Management firm in New York City where he served as Senior Vice President of Operations for 7 Years. Qorri has been in the mission critical industry for 15 years where he has built multiple Enterprise data centers for many of the financial institutions as well as the top 5 colocation companies on a global perspective. His time spent on both the contractor side as well as the end user side makes him a very well-rounded individual that understands all aspects of engineering, building, and operating a data center.