Data center operator Digital Realty receives SDEA "Gold+" certification

Data center provider Digital Realty has announced that its 45MW campus in Glattbrugg - consisting of the ZUR1, ZUR2 and ZUR3 data centers - has been awarded the "Gold+" certificate by the Swiss Datacenter Efficiency Association (SDEA). This makes the campus in Glattbrugg the first data center location in the world to receive this prestigious award. This is a significant milestone for sustainable infrastructure and data center operations in Switzerland. This announcement follows an earlier milestone in which ZUR2 and ZUR3 received the "Gold+" certificate and ZUR1 the "Silver+" label. With ZUR1 now also "Gold+" certified, the entire campus in Glattbrugg has achieved the "Gold+" label. The three data centers underwent a strict certification process in which their energy efficiency and carbon footprint were assessed. ZUR1 was opened 25 years ago. Thanks to targeted technical upgrades, it still meets the latest technological standards today.

Strategic importance of sustainability

The SDEA certifies companies that meet particularly high sustainability standards over an extended period of time with 100 % measured and verified performance. The award of the "Gold+" certificate underlines Digital Realty's commitment to consistently reducing its environmental impact while providing a high-performance digital infrastructure. "Sustainability and energy efficiency are key drivers of innovation," explains Lex Coors, Chief Data Center Technology & Engineering Officer at Digital Realty. "In a world where resource scarcity, climate change and decarbonization pressures are becoming ever more present, sustainable solutions are becoming increasingly strategic."

Delighted with SDEA certification

Babak Falsafi, President of the SDEA, shares this assessment: "The fact that an entire campus has been awarded "Gold+" for the first time is exceptional proof of Digital Realty's leading role in terms of sustainability in data centers. Digital Realty is the first company ever to achieve Gold+ certification for all three data centers on a campus, setting a new benchmark for the entire industry to follow." Yves Zischek, Managing Director at Digital Realty in Switzerland, emphasizes: "This SDEA certification is an important milestone on our path to a sustainable future. We have been striving to play a pioneering role for over 25 years and will not rest on our laurels with the "Gold+" certificate. Especially in the age of AI, this is an important and strong signal."

Data centers have high energy requirements

With increasing digitalization, the demand for data storage capacity and computing power is constantly growing. From cloud computing and AI applications to everyday digital services, data centers play a crucial role in global connectivity. This development goes hand in hand with increasing energy consumption. AI-based workloads require up to 30 times more power1 than traditional server operations, making the importance of energy-efficient infrastructures ever more critical. Digital Realty is meeting these challenges with the consistent use of renewable energy and innovative colocation solutions, according to the company. Digital Realty's entire European portfolio - including its data centers in Switzerland - is powered by 100 % of renewable energy, according to the company.

Source: Digital Realty