How atNorth and Kesko Will Boost Data Centre Sustainability
As global digital demand continues to increase, energy and emissions reduction is vital as the data centre industry continues to tackle its growing environmental impact.
This means the data centre industry stands at a vital stage, where digital growth must align with climate responsibility.
With this in mind, atNorth has announced a sustainability-led partnership with Finnish retailing conglomerate Kesko Corporation.
This collaboration will mean waste heat from atNorth’s FIN02 data centre in Espoo will be repurposed to heat a nearby Kesko store.
Not only will this reduce Kesko’s emissions from district heating use and support its goal of a 50% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions, but it will also boost atNorth’s energy efficiency and cut its carbon footprint.
In addition to this, atNorth has also gained a 45MW power agreement with Caruna Espoo Oy to help improve the energy stability of its FIN02 site. This partnership will showcase the important role data centres play in supporting the circular economy and power infrastructure across Finland.
Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, CEO atNorth, explains: “We are pleased to showcase beneficial collaborations that support our vision of data center ecosystems that fundamentally contribute to the communities in which we operate.
“By collaborating with likeminded businesses, we can not only mitigate our own carbon consumption but assist others too. At the same time, supporting the investment in local power networks facilitates long term power availability that benefits the local community as a whole”.
Heat reuse with Kesko Corporation
The heat reuse initiative at atNorth’s FIN02 data centre in Sinimäki, Espoo, will effectively cut environmental impact across the data centre industry.
atNorth is showcasing how data centres can function as part of a low-carbon and circular energy system by capturing and redirecting waste heat generated by high-performance computing operations.
Energy is captured from the IT equipment and servers inside FIN02 (which generate vast amounts of heat during normal operations) and is recycled into the local heating system. This prevents the heat from entering the atmosphere through traditional cooling systems.
The heat that is recovered warms Kesko’s store and covers most of its heating energy needs.
By doing this, Kesko can make significant progress toward its goal of halving its Scope 1 and 2 emissions and will also reduce around 200 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions per year.
As digital infrastructure widens, organisations can adopt this approach to reduce pressure on energy grids and support decarbonised heating.
This initiative will secure data centres’ position as an active member of the energy system and draw attention to a key example of responsible data centre operation.
Antti Kokkonen, Kesko’s Director of Energy, explains: “One of the key goals of our ambitious sustainability strategy is to reduce CO₂ emissions resulting from the heating of our properties,
“By collaborating with atNorth in just one store, we reduce Kesko’s emissions from district heating use by 0.9 percent, saving approximately 200tCO2 equivalent per year. This corresponds to the annual consumption of about 120 district-heated detached houses – as an individual project, this is one of our most significant CO₂ reduction initiatives this year.”
Power security with Caruna
atNorth’s strategic partnership with Caruna Espoo Oy will strengthen infrastructure to widen its operations in Finland and secure power supply.
By offering 45MW of reliable power to support atNorth’s new FIN02 data centre in Espoo, the collaboration will ensure long-term energy security and safeguard stable power to meet the rising demands of cloud, AI and HPC applications.
atNorth’s investment will encourage grid reinforcement to help future-proof energy delivery across the region.
The partnership will allow the integration of innovative energy solutions into the wider grid ecosystem and enhance the decarbonisation of local energy use.
It demonstrates how data centre operators can engage with local utilities to enable flexibility and resilience in local grids and set a new benchmark for collaborative energy planning.
Kosti Rautiainen, EVP Customers and New Ventures at Caruna, says: “Data centers play an important role in the long-term resilience of Finland’s power infrastructure and its economic growth as a whole.
“atNorth’s investment in Espoo supports the development of a carbon-free energy system through innovative heat reuse partnerships and promotes local employment opportunities. We are delighted to play our role in this data centre ecosystem for the benefit of our community.”
The impact on the data centre industry
atNorth’s partnership with both Kesko and Caruna highlights how data centres can become more sustainable and integrated with the community.
Its heat reuse agreement with Kesko will encourage operators to re-evaluate their waste outputs and set a benchmark for circular economy integration in digital infrastructure. This will allow data centres to positively impact urban sustainability.
The announcement demonstrates how combining infrastructure development, sustainability and community impact into core operations can craft future-ready data centres.
This model will offer a competitive and regulatory advantage to both the organisation and the local community as the data centre industry continues to navigate energy scarcity and environmental urgency challenges.
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