Looking at the Sustainable Development Road of IDC Enterprises from the ESG Report of Wanguo Data
In 2022, China's "East Data and West Computing" project was officially launched, and the computing industry represented by the data center ushered in changes. At the same time, under the severe situation of global economy and energy, the data center industry is facing both intensified market competition in the industry and green and low-carbon policy pressure. How to seek sustainable development in an uncertain situation has become a difficult problem for data center enterprises.
When the tide is surging, there are often pioneers who are brave to stand on the tide and lead the industry.
At the end of 2021, Wanguo Data released its first ESG report, becoming the first data center enterprise in China to commit to achieving carbon neutrality and 100% use of renewable energy by 2030. One year later, Wanguo Data released the 2021 ESG report, comprehensively demonstrating its substantive progress in various dimensions, bringing answers to the data center industry with growing energy consumption anxiety.
Huang Wei, Chairman and CEO of Wanguo Data
After the report was released, China's IDC circle conducted an exclusive interview with Huang Wei, chairman and CEO of Wanguo Data, to understand the difficulties and significance of promoting carbon neutrality in the data center, and to talk about the current challenges and future direction of the data center industry.
One year anniversary of carbon neutral path proposed, multi-dimensional carbon reduction achieved remarkable results
In the past year, three more IDC enterprises released ESG reports, following the data of Wanguo, formally making carbon neutral commitments. The process of carbon neutrality in the data center industry has started, but most enterprises have not yet taken action.
The reason is not hard to imagine. For enterprises, it is easy to propose several carbon reduction measures, but it is difficult to develop a systematic carbon neutral plan, let alone the comprehensive investigation and assessment of the company's greenhouse gas emissions required behind the plan, weigh the feasibility and cost of carbon reduction in all dimensions, and give a clear time node. The specific implementation of the carbon neutrality plan after it is proposed is also a problem for enterprises.
Under such circumstances, the carbon neutral path and promotion of Wanguo Data is undoubtedly of great reference value.
According to two ESG reports, the carbon neutral path of Wanguo Data is not a single carbon reduction initiative, but a combination of clean energy, carbon reduction and improving energy efficiency and carbon offset, which is mainly divided into three dimensions of action:
1) Renewable energy, including direct use and project investment, purchase of green certificates, etc;
2) Green design and construction, including designing energy-efficient systems, increasing waste heat recovery and energy storage measures, and using green building materials;
3) Green operation: optimize operation efficiency and reduce energy consumption through various ways.
Huang Wei said in the interview that since the proposal of the carbon neutrality plan, the company has steadily progressed according to the road map, and achieved the expected goal by 2021. The carbon emission intensity has decreased from 7.66 tCO2e/㎡ in 2020 to 5.60 tCO2e/㎡, a year-on-year decrease of 26.9%.
From the perspective of expansion, data from all countries has made substantial progress in all dimensions:
1. The use and purchase of renewable energy have been increased. The proportion of green power use has increased from 22.6% in 2020 to 34.3% in 2021. The scale of direct purchase of renewable energy has increased by 261% year on year. The number of data centers participating in direct purchase of renewable energy has increased from 6 to 13.
2. 68% of self built data centers newly put into use after 2020 have applied for green building certification or are applying for green building certification - 25% in last year's report. In addition, Wanguo Data incorporated the concept of green development into the design and construction, and formulated the GDS Green Data Center Design Guide, GDS Green Construction Management Guide, etc., forming a comprehensive standard and process.
3. The energy utilization efficiency was significantly improved, and the optimal PUE of the self built data center was reduced to 1.17 (April 2021 March 2022). Behind the digital reduction is Wanguo Data's exploration of new energy-saving technologies such as liquid cooling and the development and iteration of operation management tools. The first generation Smart DC solution is the crystallization of more than 20 years of professional experience of Wanguo Data. Through the high integration of software and hardware, it has reached a new height in green, low-carbon, agile delivery and intelligent operation, It can not only effectively reduce the energy consumption of the data center throughout the cycle, but also further optimize the customer experience.
In addition, due to the difficulty of carbon screening and other reasons, data center enterprises often only promise to achieve scope 1 and 2 * Carbon neutrality, that is, mainly focus on carbon emissions in the operation phase. In fact, carbon emissions occur throughout the life cycle of the data center, including the design, construction and even demolition stages that are easy to be ignored. * ： The globally recognized corporate greenhouse gas emission standards divide emissions into ranges 1, 2 and 3, which respectively refer to "emissions directly generated by enterprises", "emissions generated by enterprises' purchase of electricity or other energy", and "all indirect emissions occurred in the supply chain of enterprises".
Carbon emissions in the whole life cycle of the data center - Tuyuan Wanguo Data ESG Report
In this regard, in 2021, Wanguo Data will further expand the scope of carbon management from the operation stage (scope 1 and 2) to the construction stage (scope 3), complete the inventory of carbon emissions in the whole stage, and obtain ISO14064 certification, demonstrating for the industry.
At the same time, eight data centers of Wanguo Data Beijing were invited to participate in carbon emission trading pilot in 2021, and obtained more than 40000 tons of excess carbon emission rights for sale. They use their own examples to illustrate that enterprises' investment in ESG and carbon neutrality will not only bring about cost increase, but also benefit from reasonable planning and positive action.
Carbon neutral energy structure of data center is fundamental
The ambitious goal is not on paper, nor can it be achieved overnight. It needs to be promoted steadily.
Since the carbon neutrality plan was proposed, Huang Wei believes that the most difficult thing in all implementation paths is to optimize the energy structure, because "this is a fundamental change".
How can we see the root? The development of the digital economy has driven the demand for computing power to soar, and the scale of the data center industry continues to grow. In 2021, the total power consumption of China's data centers will reach 216.6 billion kilowatt hours, accounting for about 2.6% of the power consumption of the whole society, and the carbon emissions will reach 135 million tons. Even if energy efficiency is improved, the overall power consumption of the data center will continue to rise. Therefore, only by increasing the use of renewable energy can we break the positive correlation between energy demand and carbon emissions and truly reduce the carbon emissions of data centers.
Remarkable increase in the use of renewable energy
In 2020, the proportion of renewable energy use in Wanguo Data will be 22.6%, and this number will rise to 34.3% in 2021. By 2030, their goal will be 100%.
The difficulty of improving the energy structure lies in that the supply stability of large-scale renewable energy needs to be improved, and only some regional data centers can directly use renewable energy. For this reason, the data of all countries should take a "multi pronged approach" to increase the proportion of renewable energy use.
Zero carbon data center - Chengdu Data Center of World Data
First, as mentioned above, we will directly purchase renewable energy on a large scale, purchase wind power in Zhangbei, purchase hydropower in Shanghai and Chengdu, participate in new energy transactions in Guangdong, and participate in the first batch of national cross regional direct procurement of renewable energy. Among them, Chengdu No.1 and Shanghai No.3 data centers have taken the lead in realizing 100% renewable energy use by directly purchasing hydropower and transferring green certificates, and have been certified as zero carbon data centers.
Secondly, actively seek opportunities to invest in renewable energy projects, especially projects that can directly supply power to data centers or directly purchase green power.
Third, to purchase green certificates, Wanguo Data signed a multi-year agreement with CGN New Energy to purchase about 30000 GWh of green power certificates, and also purchased international green certificates from Sembcorp and Vision Energy.
Fourth, actively promote the application of renewable energy systems in the site, such as distributed photovoltaic systems. At present, the Shanghai Pujiang Data Center Park of World Data has achieved large-scale deployment, and is evaluating the feasibility of installing the Beijing Data Center.
Huang Wei believes that although the use of renewable energy has an impact on the operating costs of the data center industry at present, it must be the future direction. Therefore, Wanguo Data actively explores how to increase the proportion of renewable energy and control the cost within a reasonable range, such as expanding the types of energy used. Wanguo Data is conducting hydrogen power generation pilot in overseas data centers. When the technology is mature and the cost of hydrogen power generation decreases, it will consider promoting its application in other data centers.
Compared with wind power, hydropower and solar power generation, hydrogen energy production and application are not limited by time, region and resource distribution, and are characterized by high calorific value and stable source. In the future, it may become an important renewable energy to help change the energy structure of the data center.
IDC circle believes that although everything is not yet "ready" and the industrial policy environment and renewable energy market mechanism still need to be improved, carbon neutrality is the inevitable direction of the data center industry under the national dual carbon background.
"It is better to prepare before the rain, rather than dig a well when you are thirsty." It is believed that more data center enterprises will participate in the next step and put forward their own carbon neutral goals and plans.
Respect industry cycle, opportunities and challenges coexist
At present, the development of China's data center industry is not as clear as before. In 2022, the "data from the east and data from the west" will open the layout change, green, safe and high computing power will become the development direction, and IDC enterprises will usher in new market opportunities; At the same time, the slowdown of global macroeconomic growth, the COVID-19 epidemic and extreme weather, the tightening of energy consumption policies, intensified market competition and other factors have brought pressure and uncertainty to the development of IDC industry.
The "sustainability" of the two dimensions of environment and business is becoming the core key to the development of the data center, and it is also a challenge that every IDC enterprise needs to face.
Map Source World Data
At the same time, IDC circle has observed that GDB is rapidly expanding its business landscape. At present, there are 102 data centers in operation and under construction worldwide. Among them, the regionalization strategy of data from other countries in Southeast Asia is advancing rapidly, and several large-scale projects have been launched in Malaysia and Indonesia respectively.
Reviewing the actions of GDB in the past two years, we mainly follow two lines:
First, cultivate "internal skill" to improve ability.
Attach importance to the work of ESG, set up an ESG management framework, set up a sustainable development committee, and carry out governance and improvement in environmental, social and regulatory aspects of the company in accordance with ESG standards. ESG reports have been issued for two consecutive years, putting forward carbon neutral goals and achieving tangible results.
Improve the smart operation level of the data center, release the first generation SmartDC solution, focus on the core business segments of green low-carbon, agile delivery and smart operation of the data center, and build a three-level data center operation architecture (GOCC-ROCC-DCU).
To strengthen financial capacity and increase capital reserves, we decided to issue US $620 million of convertible preferred bonds at the beginning of this year, targeting Sequoia China New Infrastructure Fund, STT GDC, and an Asian sovereign wealth fund.
The second is to expand outward and create a new engine.
In recent years, Southeast Asia has become one of the fastest growing regions in the global digital economy, and the population resource structure, industrial policies, etc. have driven the growth of regional demand for digital infrastructure. Wanguo Data has been actively going overseas to expand the international market. It began to deploy data centers in Southeast Asia in 2021. It has deployed data centers in strategic locations in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Several projects have been successfully implemented. It has established cooperative relationships with power, network and other enterprises in Southeast Asia, and has received support and recognition from local governments.
Huang Wei revealed that the Southeast Asia market is the company's international business focus in the next five years, which will keep pace with the business in mainland China and become the second growth engine of data from all countries.
The market growth of domestic data centers slowed down this year due to various reasons: customer demand slowed down, and the signing and settlement of customers affected by the epidemic slowed down. All these have brought financial pressure to IDC enterprises that invest heavily in assets. For small and medium-sized enterprises with insufficient capital reserves, the challenges are particularly obvious. Huang Wei's suggestion is: "Every industry has a certain industry cycle, and it is impossible to develop at a very fast speed all the time. The market has ups and downs, and we should respect the law. The enterprise should foresee the cycle, make strategic response in advance in different cycles, be ready to adapt to changes, seize the opportunity to grow rapidly in the rising cycle, adjust the strategy appropriately in the downward cycle, and balance the relationship between risk and development. "
Huang Wei is optimistic about the future development of the industry: "There are not many data center markets as good as China in the world. It is only a matter of time before the whole market will recover.".
Don't be afraid of clouds to cover your eyes. In the long run, the global digital wave is unstoppable and will continue to deepen in the next two decades. Emerging technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence will drive the growth of computing power demand, which will make the future positive development of the data center industry more certain. The global climate crisis and the determination of the Chinese government to "double carbon" strategy point out the inevitable direction of green, low-carbon and sustainable for the data center.
The tide is surging, with risks and opportunities.
When "sustainability" and "development" become the core keys of the data center, will IDC enterprises take the initiative or wait passively?
As a pioneer, Wanguo Data has set an example for the industry.
