Data centres Code ‘must be mandatory’ claim

According to the managing director of data centre firm Keysource, Mike West, if the scheme is not gaining the support as a voluntary code then the only option is to "make it mandatory for all data centre operators".

West's comments follow claims that the Code of Conduct is not achieving significant levels of support among UK businesses, which will hobble the initiative's efforts to reduce energy usage levels by as much as 20 per cent.

"Making it mandatory doesn't have to be particularly stringent in the first instance, but at least it would put a stake in the ground and create a minimum standard that everyone has to comply with," West argued. "The current level of inefficiency in many facilities is unacceptable, and totally unnecessary. Steps need to be taken if the EU has any chance of hitting its carbon reduction and climate change targets."

West's company Keysource become an official endorser of the Code of Conduct on Data Centres in 2009. "We support the aims of the Code of Conduct to reduce energy usage through the adoption of best practices leading to agreed energy savings targets, but there has to be a long-term strategy to ensure that the environmental impact of data centres is reduced," he added, claiming that data centres are already responsible for around 3 per cent of UK energy use, and that this figure "will only increase unless steps are taken to tackle the issue".

More information:
www.keysource.co.uk