Google Launches Tool to Cut Data Centre Energy Waste
Google launches a free digital tool designed to help facility managers find energy-saving opportunities without needing consultants or technical expertise.
The Energy Assessment Tool (EAT) supports Google’s wider push to cut emissions and improve efficiency across its supply chain, including within its own data centre network.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) refers to energy efficiency as the “first fuel” in clean energy transitions due to its role in delivering fast and effective CO₂ reductions.
In data centres, where energy demand continues to rise alongside AI workloads, efficiency measures help operators reduce environmental impact while managing costs.
Kate Brandt, Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer, writes on LinkedIn: “We’re launching a tool that I wish I had access to early in my career as a sustainability leader.
“By equipping our partners with the right resources, we can accelerate progress, reduce costs and build a more efficient and resilient supply chain for everyone.”
Energy Assessment Tool for non-experts
These include high consultancy costs, limited funding and a lack of internal expertise.
By targeting facility and plant managers, the platform encourages basic assessments without the need for a site visit or background in energy engineering.
The tool provides custom recommendations based on information such as facility size, equipment type and operational hours.
It covers more than 20 system categories including air compressors, lighting, boilers and chillers. In doing so, it offers insights that would typically require a professional audit, aligned to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Level 1 standard.
Google confirms that the tool is powered by calculation methods and datasets developed by engineering firms with long-standing industry knowledge. That means facility operators can run assessments that would normally be out of reach without investment in external consultants.
The system is designed to support multiple languages including Chinese (simplified and traditional), Vietnamese, Thai and English, with plans to extend access across key manufacturing and industrial regions.
Individual supplier data remains private and confidential. Google confirms the platform is managed by a third party and reviewed to meet its internal privacy and security requirements.
Facility managers and suppliers can choose which partners to collaborate with and what data to share, such as potential energy and cost savings.
Extending energy efficiency across data centres
Although the tool is aimed at manufacturing and supply chain partners, Google also applies the same principles to its own data centres.
These sites are among the most efficient globally, and the company continues to reduce the energy intensity of its infrastructure.
Google’s custom-built AI chips have improved in power efficiency over time, helping it deliver larger workloads with reduced energy input.
In terms of cooling, Google has adopted methods like direct-to-chip systems to reduce the reliance on traditional air conditioning and minimise water use. It also integrates native planting and restoration projects around data centre locations to support biodiversity and local ecosystems.
Google includes energy efficiency in a wider sustainability strategy, which also covers responsible water use, circular design in consumer products and hardware repairability.
The company works toward minimising waste in its operations and promoting reuse of materials where possible.
As a leading corporate buyer of clean energy, Google already procures large-scale renewable power and is investing in early-stage technologies such as advanced nuclear, enhanced geothermal and grid-support innovations.
These help to ensure future electricity systems are both decarbonised and stable enough to support heavy computing loads like AI.
A shared path to net zero
Google states its aim is to reach net zero across its operations and entire value chain by 2030. Part of this ambition involves using carbon-free energy around the clock, on every grid where it operates. This is particularly important in data centres, which demand consistent power supply for compute, storage and cooling systems.
The company first announced its 2030 goal in 2020, launching what it calls its “third decade of climate action.”
Since then, it has focused on building a sustainable infrastructure backbone that includes energy efficient facilities, renewable procurement and low-impact supply chains.
“The journey to a more sustainable future is a shared one,” Google writes. “The Energy Assessment Tool helps pave the way for our mutual success.”
It sees collaboration as key, with the EAT serving as a practical step toward shared environmental and financial benefits for its global partners.
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