Ark: The Data Centre Industry’s Sustainability Imperative
Data centres are the backbone of our digital infrastructure, processing and storing the vast amounts of data that fuel our modern lives. However, as our reliance on digital services grows exponentially, so does the environmental footprint of these data powerhouses. As a result, the data centre industry now faces a critical challenge: how to meet the rocketing demand for data services while minimising its impact on the planet.
Ark Data Centres has been at the forefront of addressing this challenge since its inception in 2005. At the helm of Ark’s sustainability efforts is Pip Squire – today the company’s Head of Sustainability – whose journey with the company spans over two decades.
“My history with Ark Data Centres goes back to before Ark was Ark in 1999,” he says. “So through our evolutionary journey over the last 20-odd years I have been Engineering & Projects Director, Design & Build Director, Head of Design, Energy & Innovation, Head of Energy & Sustainability – a finger in just about every pie.”
This wealth of experience has positioned Pip uniquely to lead Ark’s sustainability initiatives. “We've always had sustainability at the heart of what we do,” he says, “and that started out in the early days with a real focus on energy efficiency.”
The hidden cost of our digital lives
The average person might not realise the environmental implications of their digital activities. Every photo shared, every video streamed and every document saved in the cloud contributes to the energy consumption of data centres worldwide.
“Data centres are big beasts. We use a lot of energy, absolutely, but compared to the rest of the internet that we are supporting, it's very small,” Pip explains. “50% of all the energy required to run the internet, including end-user devices, is consumed by those devices themselves. 25% of the energy is used sending the data from that end-user device to a data centre. The last 25% is used in the data centre itself. Of this last 25% used in the data centre, 80-85% is used by the servers supporting all our data needs, the remaining 15% is what the data centre consumes to support the servers. In other words, the data centre itself only uses 4% of all the energy we consume to meet our data needs from end to end.”
This breakdown highlights an often-overlooked aspect of digital sustainability: the role of consumer behaviour and end-user devices in the overall energy consumption picture. While data centres can represent an easy target for criticism due to their large, centralised nature, the reality is that consumers’ personal devices, data transmission networks and the servers supporting our data demands play a far more significant role in the environmental impact of our digital lives, than a data centre.
“In the old days, you took photographs with a 35mm camera,” Pip continues. “You had 36 shots on a roll of film and you were careful about how you took those pictures. You probably printed four and put them in an album and the rest got binned. Now, for every photo, we take two because one might not be perfect. And we don’t delete the one that’s not perfect, we store it in the cloud and leave it there - forever.”
This shift in behaviour has led to an exponential increase in data storage requirements. “People expect things to happen instantly,” Pip says. “When I started out in engineering back in the late 1970s, if I went to a site, I communicated with the head office by telex machine. You’d go to the post office, type four words to report your progress and get a response back maybe the next day. Now, people want an instant response. Someone sends a WhatsApp message and expects an immediate reply. That is all data, and it’s all being kept and stored for ever.”
Pioneering sustainable solutions
As Pip highlights, Ark Data Centres has been on a continuous journey of innovation when it comes to sustainability. One of the company’s earliest and most significant steps was the implementation of fresh air free cooling systems more than a decade ago. “That's where we take the outside air and cool the IT equipment to its required environmental conditions inside the data room with as little mechanical cooling as possible,”.
This approach has significantly reduced the energy required for cooling: one of the most energy-intensive aspects of data centre operations. However, this innovative solution came with its own challenge – increased water usage for evaporative cooling during warmer periods.
“The downside of that system was it used an awful lot of water, because we use evaporative cooling during the summer months or when external conditions are fairly dry,” Pip explains. “As soon as we realised that, we started saying, ‘You know what? We need to put in some way of using rainfall’.”
The company’s latest designs take this concept even further, aiming for a closed-loop system. “We have rainwater harvesting systems where we can and where it makes sense,” Pip says. “In our latest designs we have a system whereby we balance our water demand with our rainfall supply and we aim to avoid the use of any utility water during normal climatic conditions. We capture, store and buffer our rainwater before evaporating it in our cooling systems as efficiently as possible.”
Furthermore, the company has been integrating renewable energy sources into its operations from the very beginning. “Solar panels have been part of our business since the very beginning,” Pip highlights. “The first data centre has them on the roof. We’ve been deploying them wherever we can on the roofs of our buildings.”
Beyond water efficiency and solar, Ark is constantly looking for new ways to reduce its environmental impact. Pip outlines some of the company’s recent initiatives: “We've moved from diesel to HVO, which reduces our carbon footprint on the fuel that we use on site by 95%. And in the process also reduces Particulates and NOx, which is good for the planet.”
The company has also made strides in optimising its backup power systems. “We've consolidated our generating system, so we have fewer generators which mean lower emissions,” Pip explains. “And in areas where there are air quality problems on some of our London sites, we've actually fitted selective catalytic reactors (SCRs), which means our NOx emissions are amongst the lowest you can get.”
From emissions to energy innovation
As data centre operators like Ark continue to make strides in reducing their direct environmental impact, attention is increasingly turning to the broader challenge of sustainability across the entire value chain. This comprehensive approach involves addressing not just direct emissions, but also the complex web of indirect emissions known as Scope 3.
Pip emphasises the importance of understanding the different scopes of emissions: “We need to get very clear about Scopes 1 and 2. Scope 1 are all the emissions that we have direct control of, and the ones that are really important are greenhouse gas emissions. We’ve designed our buildings to minimise these and if we can design them out entirely, we do.”
Scope 2 emissions, meanwhile, entail the electricity that data centre operators consume from their suppliers. “We buy all the electricity for our customers and report those Scope 2 emissions as part of our own,” Pip explains. “Our customers then report their electricity use as part of their scope three emissions because we provide it as a service.”
This distinction is crucial to avoid double-counting and to ensure clear reporting across the supply chain. Pip notes: “If we end up with me reporting utility electricity as Scope 2 and our customers doing the same, we've immediately double counted. We need to make sure people understand where the scoping sits within the supply chain.”
When it comes to Scope 3 emissions, Pip acknowledges the challenges involved, particularly in the supply chain. “Our supply chain is the area we need to concentrate on, both in terms of greenhouse gases and the circular economy. Getting suppliers educated is really important. But it's hard because they're often forced to focus on the lowest price. If you are constantly pushed on price, you're not going to spend time working on your carbon footprint. Nevertheless, we continue to work with our suppliers on reducing their emissions by aligning our net zero carbon plans to strategically meet a collective reduction in supply chain carbon targets as a partnership towards a sustainable future.”
Ark’s approach to sustainability also involves innovative energy solutions. Currently, many data centre operators use Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs), but Pip recognises their limitations: “REGOs guarantee that if we use 65GWh of electricity in a year, we'll have bought 65GWh of zero carbon energy. But it doesn't guarantee 100% renewable energy 100% of the time, which is where we need to get to.”
This recognition of the challenges posed by intermittent renewables has led Ark to explore more radical options for the future, such as micro modular nuclear reactors (MMNR). “MMNRs offer really good efficiencies for baseload generation,” Pip highlights. “They don't take up much space and can be located where needed, so you don't have to strengthen the grid or put up pylons across the countryside."
This forward-thinking approach extends to how Ark views its role in the broader energy ecosystem. “If we can promote small modular nuclear, we can guarantee our customers 100% zero carbon energy all the time,” Pip explains. “We can also support local grids and be part of the solution for excess capacity, helping the grid get to net zero much more quickly.”
As Pip highlights, the data centre industry must seek new solutions and change its mindset to meet ambitious sustainability targets.
“We need to get past the belief that intermittent renewables and batteries alone will meet our energy needs. If we rely solely on that, we'll end up mining huge amounts of materials to create several times the generation capacity we actually need.”
Innovation and sustainability key to tackling the AI challenge
As the data centre industry grapples with improving its environmental performance, a new challenge looms: the rapid growth of AI and its computational demands. This emerging technology promises to revolutionise countless aspects of our lives, but it also presents significant challenges for data centre sustainability.
Pip acknowledges the uncertainty surrounding AI’s impact on data centre operations: “The truth of the matter is, we don't know yet because we haven’t yet got the perfect chip. We haven’t yet got agreement on how people want those chips to be cooled or deployed or run, it depends on who you buy it from and who you talk to.”
This uncertainty stems from the fact that AI – and particularly large language models – require immense computational power. As Pip explains: “There is still an awful lot of hype about AI and the benefits it can bring and how much energy it’s going to use and what its water impacts are going to be.”
However, Pip also sees this as an opportunity for the industry to reassess its approach to cooling and efficiency. The challenge lies in the fact that many AI chips require lower operating temperatures to perform optimally. This potential reversal of efficiency gains is a significant concern for the industry. Pip emphasises the importance of finding a balance between performance and sustainability: “People who manufacture the servers that run the AI equipment need to understand the implications of the performance requirements they need.
“We need to try and persuade the chip and storage manufacturers to not work to 26 degrees. Can you make those chips work at 35 degrees?' That difference has a huge impact on the planet – not just in terms of energy used, but in terms of greenhouse gas emissions arising from refrigerant gases too.”
The power of collaboration
Ark Data Centres' success in improving its sustainability performance is largely due to its collaborative approach with suppliers and partners: an approach that has not only fostered innovation but has also created a network of trusted relationships.
Pip proudly notes the longevity of these partnerships: “Many of those contracting partners who we started with 15 or 16 years ago are still with us now.”
One particularly innovative aspect of Ark's collaborative approach was its decision to encourage cooperation between competing contractors. “Back in 2011 I said to two competing contracting teams, 'I need you guys to work together and you need to actually share experience’.”
This unconventional strategy paid dividends. As Pip notes: “That shared knowledge has made all three partners stronger because we've learnt from each other. It means we’ve also evolved in terms of our reporting requirements.
“Our partners know that we need to be sustainable. They know that we need to be energy-efficient, they know that we need to be water-efficient, they know we need to be secure. What I'm really proud of is the fact that people I employed when I first started as employee number one are still with us now.
“That evolution of joint aspirations, shared values and shared profit amongst all of us is really, really good. That's what I think makes the difference between us and many of our competitors. We have a shared ethos that values our suppliers, our customers, our staff and the environment.”
The skills gap: A critical challenge
As the data centre industry continues to evolve and face new challenges, one of the most pressing issues is the shortage of skilled professionals in the field – a gap that threatens to slow the pace of innovation and hinder efforts to improve sustainability across the sector. As Pip emphasises, the challenge is not just about filling current vacancies, but about preparing for the future needs of the industry.
“If we are going to revolutionise the world to be able to take best advantage of the data revolution that is coming, we are going to need engineers who can build marine turbines for generating electricity out of waves or tidal power, which will guarantee you zero carbon power supplies,” he says.
The breadth of skills required underscores the complexity of modern data centre operations and the diverse expertise needed to drive the industry forward. "You need nuclear engineers to do that side of things.,” Pip adds “You need mechanical engineers to be able to drive your data centres or your autonomous vehicles. And we need to have scientific people across the broad spectrum of nationals, gender, wherever they come from, because everybody's got a really good brain and if you put your mind to it, you could become a really good engineer. It's good fun.”
The challenge is compounded by the rapid pace of technological change in the industry. As data centres become more complex and integrate new technologies like AI and advanced cooling systems, the skills required to design, build and maintain these facilities are constantly evolving.
As the data centre industry continues to grow and evolve, addressing the skills gap will be crucial for ensuring its sustainability and ability to innovate. It will require a concerted effort from companies, educational institutions and policymakers to attract, train and retain the diverse talent needed to power the data centres of the future.
Pip's vision for the future of the industry is both expansive and inspiring: "If we're going to need all this power, we need to have power engineers that are looking at the different ways we can generate electricity and store it. We need to look at how we can harvest the oceans to be able to provide better carbon sinks. How do we start growing kelp farms that are much more efficient at capturing carbon than using the kelp to do something else with?"
This multifaceted approach to sustainability – encompassing energy efficiency, innovative cooling solutions, supply chain management and cutting-edge power generation and carbon capture – will require a new generation of skilled professionals. As Pip puts it: "The scope for engineering or scientific minds is just huge. And at the moment it's not seen as sexy. It doesn't make as much money as going into the city, but to me it's much sexier. It has a much bigger impact on the world. I feel I can walk away after 45 years of building things, and I can be proud of what I've done. To me, that's a big legacy to leave.”
Make sure you check out the latest edition of DataCentre Magazine and also sign up to our global conference series - Data Centre LIVE 2025
DataCentre Magazine is a BizClik brand
