(Credit: Pixabay)Strained water systems and increasing water shortages are putting conservation efforts at the forefront worldwide as many businesses balance the need to use water in their operations, especially those that use water-intensive data centers.
A report from Morningstar Sustainalytics analyzed how data centers are doing in terms of tackling water risks. It finds that most companies don’t have water strategies in terms of data centers, or if they do have plans in place, they have room for improvement.
It broke out Microsoft as an example of a company that has had success in water sustainability, saying it is the only one in the analysis to receive top scores in water management and water risk management. Morningstar Sustainalytics says Microsoft’s water intensity also showed a significant decrease compared with its three-year average.
Those successes are attributed in part to Microsoft’s pledge to be water positive by 2030. The company says it will replenish more water than it uses by that time. The report also finds the company’s use of technologies such as water management systems and adiabatic cooling, which uses outside air instead of water for cooling, has aided its data center progress.
That said, Microsoft recently was criticized for its data center water use in the Netherlands; the company said it would use between 12 million and 20 million liters of water per year, but Noordhollands Dagblad reported the number to be 84 million liters. The country says it is officially in a drought.
Data Center Dynamics reports that Microsoft says the increase in water use in the Netherlands included a significant amount used for construction, and not data center operations.
Data centers are necessary for growing technology infrastructure, and they use a significant amount of water directly for cooling purposes and also for generating energy. This has led to big growth in the data center liquid cooling market, which is estimated to be worth $31 billion in 2032, as well as a pledge from European operators to cap their water use.
Apple, Google, and Facebook have all also pledged to build sustainable data centers and conserve water. They each have operations in drought-stricken areas of the Colorado River Basin, which recently was put on water shortage status by the US Department of Interior requiring Arizona and Nevada to receive less water.
The Morningstar Sustainalytics report studied 122 technology and telecommunications companies and their data center water use. It found that nearly half of them disclosed formal water programs, and of those 5% had strong programs, 33% had adequate programs, and 61% had weak programs. The analysis shows that 16% of companies reported a water risk management program.
The majority of companies, 84%, did not provide did not disclose data such as water withdrawal or water consumption. Morningstar Sustainalytics says as a result it was unable to calculate those businesses’ water intensity or compare them to their peers.
The report assessed each company’s exposure to water risks and management of resource risks through regional water stresses, water management programs, climate risk management, water intensity, and water intensity trend.
