LCL Data Centers joins the Science Based Targets Initiative

Belgian company LCL Data Centers has today announced it has joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its data centres and thereby fight global warming. 

Joining the initiative means that LCL is embracing the SBTi’s most ambitious target: to strive to keep the average increase in global temperatures below 1.5°C. As a result,  LCL Data Centers has become the first Belgian data centre company to join the SBTi and the 10th Belgian company to work towards the above-mentioned target.

Laurens van Reijen, Managing Director of LCL, said: “Many large companies call on LCL to host their servers. This is a service that is often outsourced because it’s a specialised activity that requires significant investment. As a provider of this service, we can clearly contribute to a more environmentally friendly future, while also helping our customers to reduce their CO2 emissions, as this involves the consumption of their servers. We have deliberately chosen the most ambitious target because we want to make a difference.” 

Signing the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact (CNDCP) and the SBTi

In January this year, LCL signed the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact (CNDCP), a self-regulatory initiative of the leading cloud infrastructure providers and data centers managers. The objective of this initiative is to help all data centers in Europe to become carbon neutral by 2030, in support of the European Green Deal. Today, the company is aiming at an additional objective of limiting global warming to below 1.5°C under the SBTi. To do so, the company acquired the help of a specialist consultancy firm to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions from its data centres. 

Currently, a total of 2,200 companies are registered with the SBTi, with LCL being the 10th company in Belgium to commit to its target. “We have always viewed sustainable development as essential,” said Laurens van Reijen, speaking about this new stage. “Sustainable development is also about well-being at work – by creating a safe environment for everyone working at or visiting LCL – as well as studying ways to work more sustainably in all possible fields. These initiatives also benefit our customers, because they host their servers and telecommunications infrastructure on our premises. Thanks to this new and ambitious stage, we therefore also help our customers to work more sustainably.”

What are the objectives of the SBTi?

The objectives of the Science Based Targets initiative are established on a scientific basis and are aligned with what the most recent climate study considers crucial to achieve the goals of the Paris climate agreement – namely limiting global warming to well below 2°C or even 1.5°C. 

Small, medium, and large companies from a variety of sectors can join the SBTi and set an achievable, science-based target to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions