Joy Agwunobi
As the global digital economy continues to expand, data centres, the backbone of cloud computing and the internet face mounting pressure to curb energy consumption. A recent insight from the World Economic Forum (WEF) highlights three key strategies that can help data centres prevent global energy demand from doubling by 2030.
According to the Forum, data centres operate as complex ecosystems where power, cooling, water, materials, and workloads are interconnected, requiring sustainability measures that evolve alongside these facilities. Globally, data centres already consume more energy than some nations. Leading facilities, however, can operate with up to 84 percent less overhead energy than the industry average.
The growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) has further increased energy concerns. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that data centres consumed approximately 415 terawatt-hours (TWh) worldwide in 2024, a figure projected to rise to 945 TWh by 2030,exceeding Japan’s annual electricity consumption.
The WEF noted that training a single large AI model, such as ChatGPT, is estimated to generate 552 tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual emissions of 121 US households. While training is the most energy-intensive stage, AI inference—the process of running trained models,can account for up to 90 percent of a model’s lifecycle energy use.
The WEF emphasised that energy consumption affects water use, cooling, and materials. A McKinsey report cited by the forum predicts that US data centres could consume up to 12 percent of national electricity by 2030, particularly in regions with high concentrations of facilities. In Loudoun County, Virginia, data centres accounted for 21 percent of total local electricity use in 2023, exceeding domestic consumption at 18 percent.
Reliability remains a concern. In 2024, a minor power disturbance in Fairfax County, Virginia, forced 60 data centres onto backup generators, resulting in a sudden loss of 1,500 megawatts, roughly equivalent to Boston’s total power demand. The WEF noted similar challenges in European data centre hubs, where grid congestion and industrial electrification increase the risk of outages.
Data centres also place pressure on water and materials. According to NPR, an average data centre consumes 300,000 gallons of water daily, with usage rising alongside energy consumption. The IEA estimates that demand for raw materials to support the global energy transition will increase sixfold, with lithium demand alone expected to grow 40-fold. Global e-waste has reached 62 million tonnes annually, containing valuable rare-earth and other metals.
A three-pillar strategy
The WEF recommends a three-pronged approach to data centre sustainability, focusing on physical efficiency, workload efficiency, and circular economy practice,offering a clear path from immediate improvements to lasting impact.
Physical efficiency forms the foundation of this approach. The forum stressed that end-to-end measurement is essential, noting that “data centres collectively consume as much energy as some nations, showing the importance of efficiency. Facilities operating at a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of around 1.1 can use around 84 percent less overhead energy than those with a PUE near 2.0, highlighting the efficiency gains possible through best-practice design.” Physical efficiency spans every layer of infrastructure, from power sourcing and site selection to advanced cooling technologies. As sustainability ambitions grow, optimising these systems remains critical to building data centres that are both powerful and resilient.
Workload efficiency, often overlooked, has the greatest potential to reduce energy use. It ensures every watt contributes to meaningful computing output. Virtualisation, strategic workload placement, and modern hardware upgrades minimise idle capacity and maximise efficiency. Optimising workloads bridges performance and sustainability, allowing incremental improvements to drive systemic change.
Thirdly, circular economy practices focus on reuse, recycling, and resource longevity. Most data centres currently recycle only a small portion of their infrastructure. By extending equipment life, responsibly recycling materials, and managing resources like water, circularity helps reclaim critical minerals and reduce e-waste.
The WEF emphasised that sustainability in data centres is a continuous, adaptive process. Accurate measurement and holistic strategies across all three pillars are key to achieving lasting improvements in energy and resource efficiency.
