Vantage Data Centers Publishes Annual ESG Report Highlighting Dedication to Responsible Growth
11 Julio 2024 - 3:00PM
Business Wire
Company’s third environmental, social and
governance report spotlights progress on carbon emissions reduction
programs, DE&I initiatives, industry-leading safety record and
adoption of international reporting frameworks
Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale
data center campuses, today published its third annual
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report showcasing
continued progress toward its wide range of ESG initiatives amid
rapid global growth. Themed “Growth that Preserves,” the 2023
report reinforces the company’s commitment to increase and track
its sustainability progress across an expanding portfolio of 34
global campuses.
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Vantage Data Centers today published its
third annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report
showcasing continued progress toward its wide range of ESG
initiatives amid rapid global growth. (Graphic: Business Wire)
“2023 was a year of remarkable growth in an era of artificial
intelligence (AI) and cloud adoption,” said Sureel Choksi,
president and CEO of Vantage Data Centers. “While we are incredibly
excited about the expanded opportunity afforded by the global
demand for digital infrastructure, we remain focused on growing
responsibly in alignment with the priorities of our investors and
our customers. This year’s theme, ‘Growth that Preserves,’ is a
testament to our long-standing commitment to minimize our
environmental footprint while increasing the positive impact we
make on our team members and the communities we call home.”
Every two years, Vantage conducts a comprehensive materiality
assessment supported by a consulting firm. In 2023, the assessment
was expanded to align with the European Sustainability Reporting
Standards (ESRS). Customers, investors, suppliers, community
representatives and employees were surveyed on a variety of
ESG-related topics, and the results provided Vantage with an
understanding of stakeholder priorities, establishing the
foundation of the initiatives outlined in this report.
Below are key highlights from Vantage’s 2023 ESG report:
Environmental
Stewardship
- Driving emissions reductions to net zero by 2030:
Vantage is committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions for
scopes 1 and 2 by 2030. This past year, the company continued
deploying generator run-time reduction programs and using
hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) in more back-up generators as a
cleaner fuel source than diesel, in addition to implementing
operational performance reporting of key sustainability
metrics.
- Investments in renewable energy: Expanding its
multi-pronged approach to securing and using renewable energy,
Vantage now has 10 locations across North America and EMEA powered
in part by renewables, from hydro to tidal and wind.
- Continued attention on water and waste: 2023 also
brought a continued focus on minimizing the use of water and waste.
The company continues to leverage a highly efficient closed-loop
chilled water system generated through air-cooled chillers for
cooling, yielding a Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) ratio near
zero. Additionally, minimizing waste during construction and
operations has become a standard procedure at every campus, from
using green concrete and steel at multiple sites to achieving
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Solutions Zero Waste Certification
for the construction phase of a project in Quebec City,
Canada.
Social Responsibility
- Deepening commitment to employee affinity groups and
well-being: Welcoming 317 new employees, Vantage’s workforce
grew by 31% in 2023. Alongside that growth, the company increased
its focus on global affinity groups, including the Black Employee
Network, the Mental Health and Well-Being Network, the Muslim
Employee Group, the Women’s Leadership Network and Vantage
Veterans, ensuring each is rooted in action and empowerment.
Vantage also increased programs around mental health and well-being
to provide employees with access to resources and education to
create a positive work environment for its high-performing
team.
- Continuous learning: A number of professional
development and training programs were launched last year, from
Learning Labs, designed to help employees expand their soft skills,
to Manager Essentials, designed to help managers lead their teams
effectively, and Leadership Unlocked, a program focused on
upskilling high-potential leaders through a “leader as coach”
curriculum.
- Community engagement: Vantage remains committed to
giving back to its communities and recently created a framework to
provide guidance on organizing and optimizing philanthropic
initiatives throughout the lifecycle of a data center development,
from site selection to construction and operations. In addition,
the company launched a new benefit that provides employees paid
time off for volunteering.
Ethical Governance
- Center of Excellence: A new governing body, an ESG
Center of Excellence (COE), was formed to lead the continued
development of the company’s ESG strategy and implementation. The
COE reviews and updates policies and approaches to align with
emerging best practices, changing regulations and stakeholder
expectations.
- Standardizing reporting: Two international frameworks
for reporting – the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
(SASB) were adopted by Vantage in 2023. As global regulators and
stakeholders advocate for increased disclosures, voluntarily
embracing these frameworks contributes to a systemization of global
reporting standards.
- Vision Zero: Vantage’s strategic approach to preventing
safety-related issues, Vision Zero remained a critical component of
the company’s environmental health and safety program (EH&S).
Despite logging a 31% increase in construction hours worked
compared to 2022, Vantage achieved a Total Recordable Incident Rate
(TRIR) of .36, well below the industry average.
For more information about Vantage’s progress and innovation
towards its ESG initiatives, please download the full report
here.
About Vantage Data Centers
Vantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the
technology of the world’s well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers
and large enterprises. Developing and operating across five
continents in North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has
evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic
gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible
environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands.
For more information, visit http://www.vantage-dc.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240711065530/en/
Mark Freeman Vantage Data Centers mfreeman@vantage-dc.com
+1-202-680-4243
Robin Bectel REQ for Vantage Data Centers vdc@req.co
+1-202-936-6335