While companies fast-track the adoption of cutting-edge, energy-intensive technologies like AI to gain new insights and drive business growth, they’re also focused on building a more sustainable digital infrastructure foundation for their businesses. Balancing these priorities is imperative. Sustainability regulations and reporting are on the rise globally, and more customers and partners want to work exclusively with suppliers that prioritize all aspects of sustainability: social, economic and environmental.
IT infrastructure can significantly contribute to a company’s overall environmental footprint, extending beyond carbon emissions. By prioritizing sustainability across their complete value chain, businesses can not only reduce their carbon impact but also enhance operational efficiency and long-term resilience. This blog series explores practical strategies for building and operating a more sustainable digital infrastructure, aligning with the growing demand for responsible business practices in the global economy.
So far in the series, we’ve discussed:
- How organizations can reduce carbon emissions and simplify climate reporting by migrating to more efficient data centers
- How to further improve networking efficiency through virtualizing networking infrastructure
- Why joining a sustainable ecosystem of partners and service providers helps you build a responsible supply chain to further reduce emissions
In this final part of the series, we’ll discuss how to reduce your environmental impact when deploying infrastructure at the edge and the implications of sustainable edge deployments for businesses and communities.
But first, where’s your edge?
Edge computing typically refers to a paradigm that brings computation and data storage closer to the locations where they’re needed. Any location that’s traditionally been used for front-end transactions like connecting with end users, devices and local markets can be an edge location. The primary reasons for using edge computing are to reduce application latency, improve data transfer efficiency and simplify expansion into new regions.
Imagine you’re watching a live sporting event on your phone, and the video and audio quality are excellent. That’s likely because the data from the game isn’t being sent to a distant server and back, but instead being processed by a smaller computer close to your location. This is edge computing in action—creating faster, smoother user experiences.
Edge data centers are strategically placed in locations where a business requires proximity to end users, transactions or devices that generate data to support performance, reliability and emerging technologies. The edge can be anywhere and everywhere—and this matters for sustainability. If your company is based in Latin America, you may have your core IT infrastructure there but wish to expand into North America or Europe. If you’re in Europe, you may want to expand into the Middle East or Asia. As the Global Interconnection Index (GXI) 2024 shows, the edge computing infrastructure necessary to support such growth is increasingly distributed worldwide. The point is: businesses are found everywhere, and that means the edge could be everywhere too, including the places where you’re looking to grow.
The complex interplay of data center operations within regional energy grids, overlayed with evolving regulations across the globe, can make it challenging for enterprises to independently deploy sustainable edge infrastructure. The right global digital infrastructure provider can offer a strategic advantage by providing a standardized approach to sustainability, ensuring compliance and reducing operational complexities. This allows businesses to focus on their core operations while benefiting from a more sustainable and efficient edge deployment.
The full scope of sustainability at the edge
As companies expand into new markets to grow their business and reach new customers, they need to explore ways to deploy sustainably in edge locations. Often, that means considering locally available power sources as one critical factor. When people think about sustainable infrastructure, the focus is usually on reducing use-phase emissions by sourcing renewable energy and improving the efficiency of IT infrastructure—which are essential.
But sustainability goes beyond a company’s carbon footprint. Where you put your infrastructure can affect the social and financial development of a region. For instance, deploying infrastructure in rapidly developing economies gives companies an opportunity to contribute positively to the economic growth of that region. Or to get even more specific, if your edge is in a location where the population is currently served by an overloaded public backbone and dependent IT infrastructure, you can choose to deploy a private network designed to deal with enterprise traffic instead of taxing the already stressed public internet. This kind of responsible expansion not only supports secure connectivity within a network of multiple clouds and business partners; it can also contribute to social sustainability in edge locations.
All aspects of sustainability—social, economic and environmental—should be considered as you explore the advantages of deploying infrastructure at the edge.
Choose an edge provider invested in sustainable growth
For many companies, the upfront investment needed to build a new data center in an edge location is too high. There can be regulatory hurdles to clear, and in some locations, it’s not easy or cost-effective for a single company to procure renewable energy. That’s where an experienced and neutral digital infrastructure provider can help.
As a global digital infrastructure provider with data centers in 71 markets, Equinix has a wealth of experience designing and operating sustainably across the globe. We’ve been hard at work getting renewable energy at scale for years. Through mechanisms like power purchase agreements (PPAs)—long-term contracts between electricity buyers and renewable energy generators—we’ve been investing in clean and renewable energy to address the emissions associated with power used in our data centers. We’ve achieved 96% renewable energy coverage globally and are working toward our goal of 100% renewables coverage by 2030.
Because of our large global footprint, we’re able to run economies of scale that many individual companies have not yet achieved. When you decide to deploy infrastructure at the edge with Equinix—especially considering the growing requirements for AI training and inference—you can take advantage of our renewable energy investments and efficient operations. We also offer digital services, including virtualized networking solutions that help you improve your infrastructure and give you the agility to experiment in new locations.
Sustainable edge deployments involve partnering with other companies committed to sustainability. Platform Equinix® is the meeting place of the world’s most prominent clouds, network providers, IT service providers and enterprises. When you deploy edge infrastructure with us, you have access to your choice of partners and providers, including those with sustainability commitments that align to yours.
When deploying a point of presence in a new area with Equinix, you’re not only expanding your business to deliver services sustainably in those locations; you’re also contributing to sustainable digital development at a much lower cost and time commitment than you’d be able to do independently.
Ready for the next step? Explore Equinix solutions to learn more about sustainable deployment at the edge.
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