Chindata Group recently joined the United Nations Global Compact in APAC furthering its commitment to the sustainable development of digital infrastructure. This follows the launch in December 2020 of its 2030 Carbon Neutral Roadmap, committing all of its ‘next-generation’ hyper-scale data centers in china to use 100% renewable energy by 2030. DIN is encouraged to see this commitment by a significant operator in the APAC region with approximately 578 MW of installed and under construction IT capacity.
The United Nations Global Compact is a non-binding United Nations pact designed to encourage businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies and to report on their implementation. The multi-year strategy of the UN Global Compact is to drive business awareness and action in support of achieving sustainable development goals by 2030.
Around the same time, Chindata has also announced that it has recently participated in China’s first nationwide green power transaction and completed procurement of 100 million kilowatt-hours (kWh). Such volume represents around 1.26% of the overall transaction and is expected to directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 94,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
According to public data, a total of 259 domestic Chinese entities participated in this green power transaction, with a total transaction volume of 7.935 billion kWh. Renewable energy contracts brokered with local governments will see the company secure 1.3GW of installed capacity. With a track history of sustainability initiatives, it had previously reported in 2019 that 37% of energy requirements were already from renewable sources
Following the announcement of China’s goals of reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, a series of policies have been introduced, with pilot schemes for both national carbon emissions trading and national green power trading.
Chindata has been exploring four major initiatives to enable it to meet its goals, these include direct green power trading, innovative regional green power consumption mechanisms, development of renewable energy power stations and development of integrated power Generation-Grid-Load-Storage projects.
Together these are expected to set examples for the paths of green electricity consumption for digital infrastructure companies in China, while also further strengthening the sustainability initiatives of Chindata Group. Headed by Founder and CEO Alex Ju, Chindata Group lead the way in Asia as one of the digital infrastructure operators fully committed to carbon neutrality. The company announced “Through its involvement, Chindata Group will work with other members to promote a shared global vision, including delivering on the United Nations’ SDGs. This move extends Chindata Group’s commitment to achieving the inclusive and sustainable development of digital infrastructure.”
