It requires companies to prepare annual sustainability reports following the European Sustainability Reporting Standards.
The CSRD introduces assurance requirements for sustainability reports, necessitating independent verification by auditors.
Companies subject to the CSRD should begin preparing for their new reporting obligations by evaluating their current ESG practices, data collection systems, reporting frameworks, and assurance processes.
One sector significantly impacted by the CSRD is the data center industry, which plays a vital role in the digital economy but also consumes substantial energy and resources.
Data center operators will need to report on various sustainability aspects, including energy efficiency, carbon footprint, water consumption, waste management, biodiversity impact, human rights, labor practices, and cybersecurity.
Reporting will require adherence to standardized frameworks like the EU Taxonomy, Global Reporting Initiative, and Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
The CSRD will have significant implications for data center operations, driving the need for reliable data collection and analysis systems to ensure accurate and comparable reporting.
It will enhance the reputation and competitiveness of data center operators aligned with the EU's sustainability goals.
As part of this initiative, the European Union's Research Center for Energy Efficiency is transitioning the European Code of Conduct for Data Centers into an Assessment Framework.
This framework will mandate reporting on data center energy efficiency under the CSRD, providing crucial information for assessing a company's impact on people and the environment.
The CSRD places strong emphasis on evidence-based reporting, accurate measurement of greenhouse gas data, and detailed disclosure of Scope 1, 2, and 3 ESG emissions.
During a recent event, Stephen Lorimer, the Group Technical Director at Keysource, expressed his belief that the data center industry is ill-prepared for the upcoming regulatory changes and reporting requirements.
Despite the monitoring phase starting in May 2023, many data centers are lagging in their preparations.
By May 2024, the European Commission's EED will mandate EU data centers with an annual energy consumption of over 2780 MWh to disclose their energy performance publicly.
The updated thresholds will impact most data center operators globally, encompassing reports on data traffic, storage, temperature, power, water, carbon effectiveness, energy reuse, renewable energy, and cooling ratios.
To support organizations in evaluating their ESG Scope 2 and Scope 3 performance, the International Standards Organization has published a globally standardized set of KPIs in the ISO/IEC 30134 series that provide provide valuable metrics for driving improvements in data center operations and resource efficiency.
In the pursuit of improving sustainability, Hyperview is integrating AI co-pilots into its data center infrastructure management platform.
In summary, the changing landscape of ESG reporting, driven by new initiatives such as the CSRD and the EED, is pushing organizations to be more transparent about their sustainability performance.
The EU's transition from the Code of Conduct for Data Centers to an Assessment Framework sets the stage for mandatory reporting on energy efficiency.
See first-hand how modern DCIM software can help you comply with the CSRD and EED sustainability reporting directives.
This Cyber News was published on securityboulevard.com. Publication date: Wed, 13 Dec 2023 02:43:05 +0000