{"id":167924,"date":"2026-04-15T08:48:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T07:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/2026\/04\/15\/data-centre-operators-must-engage-with-local-communities-to-thrive-report-finds\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T08:48:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T07:48:46","slug":"data-centre-operators-must-engage-with-local-communities-to-thrive-report-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/2026\/04\/15\/data-centre-operators-must-engage-with-local-communities-to-thrive-report-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Data centre operators must engage with local communities to thrive, report finds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Switch Datacenters, a leading provider of high-density sustainable data centres across Europe, has launched its 2025 Sustainability Report, outlining a clear pathway to reach net-positive impact by 2040.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report reveals a dramatic decline in water use, new cooperative stakeholder models including green residual heat exchange networks and a clear pathway to reach net-positive impact by 2040. With plans for six new builds and more, the report highlights how Switch Datacenters is growing its footprint to over 1GW capacity in the coming years while supporting local societies and economies and ensuring the minimum possible impact on the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs Switch Datacenters enters a new phase of growth, the sustainability principles that have been embedded in our culture since inception are serving as key performance indicators for everything we do moving forward,\u201d said Edgar Van Essen, Managing Director, CCO and Partner for Switch Datacenters. \u201cWe have an obligation to respond to the impact of climate change to help advance the energy transition that European countries like the Netherlands are actively pursuing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne of the most impactful principles we adhere to is pursuing deep integration with local communities and value chains, through collaboration with municipalities, grid operators and local stakeholders from the earliest planning stages,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One example of Switch Datacenters\u2019 community-forward model is its cooperation with the Municipality of Diemen, supporting development of a district heating network using green residual heat from AMS4 \u2013 one of the company\u2019s three operational Amsterdam-based facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report also outlines key metrics supporting Switch Datacenters\u2019 ESG strategy, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Water withdrawal at AMS3 decreased by 41% \u2013 from 45,655 m3 in 2024 to 27,041 m3 in 2025 \u2013 showing improved operational efficiency and partial transition towards lower-water systems<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consistent achievement of ultra-low PUE, with some locations operating regularly at 1.17<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The elimination of market-based Scope 2 emissions, through 100% local renewable electricity procurement<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In 2024, waste diversion rates exceeded 97% for non-hazardous waste, demonstrating strong material recovery performance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe view sustainability as an essential and integrated business practice for a digital infrastructure company, not a parallel initiative or a compliance exercise driven by regulatory demands,\u201d said Cara Mascini, Chief Sustainability Officer at Switch Datacenters. \u201cIn an industry facing escalating scrutiny over energy use and social impact, we present ESG not as a constraint, but as a source of resilience and long-term value creation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Switch Datacenters, a leading provider of high-density sustainable data centres across Europe, has launched its 2025 Sustainability Report, outlining a clear pathway to reach net-positive impact by 2040. The report reveals a dramatic decline in water use, new cooperative stakeholder models including green residual heat exchange networks and a clear pathway to reach net-positive impact [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":167925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,33,18793,36,6617,16817,93],"tags":[6189,35,25044,13819,6852,226,25045],"class_list":["post-167924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data-centres","category-energy","category-europe","category-green","category-research","category-strategy","category-top-stories","tag-data-centres-2","tag-energy","tag-esg-strategy","tag-green","tag-research","tag-sustainability","tag-switch-datacenters"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}