Johnson Controls’ Vision for Greener Data Centres

Buildings account for nearly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions according to the International Energy Agency, yet they are often left out of climate discussions. 

For Katie McGinty, Chief Sustainability and External Relations Officer at Johnson Controls, this is both a challenge and an opportunity.

“The climate is telling us that until we decarbonise those buildings, we can't effectively decarbonise the climate,” she says.

“The great news is that we have a trifecta of technologies today that drives those buildings from being a burden on the climate and the balance sheet to being net zero or even net energy positive.”

That trio – efficiency, electrification and digitalisation – is reshaping how the company operates and how its customers approach building management.

Johnson Controls is now close to meeting 90% of its science-based emissions reduction targets.

Cutting data centre energy use

Data centres face particular challenges as AI adoption fuels rapid capacity growth. Katie points to four key pressure points – energy, water, space and noise – and how Johnson Controls is targeting them with new technology and partnerships.

“Only a year ago it was thought that our chillers needed to produce water as cold as 5°C to tackle that heat,” she says.

Working with chip manufacturers, the company developed cooling systems that deliver the same effect with water at 23°C. “We calculate that we're achieving that cooling with 40% less energy.”

Space efficiency is being improved with magnetic bearing technology originally designed for submarines. 

Compressors built with this approach are 44% smaller than oil-bearing equivalents, opening the door to rooftop deployment and supporting vertical data centre construction.

“That’s a machine that now can sit on a roof and be supported by a vertical data centre,” Katie notes.

Turning waste heat into a resource

Heat from data centres is not only a by-product to be managed – it is increasingly a potential community resource. 

Johnson Controls is working on projects in Europe and the US that integrate data centres with district heating systems.

Captured heat is fed into heat pumps and distributed to schools, hospitals or factories nearby.

“That’s an evolution that we think changes the whole story about data centres, from being a challenge on community infrastructure to being an igniter of new investment in and strengthening of community assets and competitiveness,” says Katie.

AI-enabled efficiency gains

AI is contributing to the rising power demands of data centres but is also being used to improve operational efficiency. Johnson Controls’ digital platforms can process up to a million data points per minute, adjusting systems automatically for occupancy, weather and energy prices.

At Stanford University, this approach cut peak energy demand by 20% and saved US$500,000 a year.

“We can achieve on the order of 10% to 20% additional emission reductions, even for brand new buildings and those with the highest level of green certification,” explains Katie.

She highlights how many commercial buildings stayed almost fully powered during COVID-19 lockdowns despite an 80% drop in occupancy.

By shifting from analogue controls to AI-driven automation, buildings can react dynamically, reducing waste without compromising on either safety or performance.

Reframing infrastructure as an asset

Katie believes that buildings – including data centres – should be seen as strategic assets rather than background infrastructure. She argues that when executives recognise this potential, transformative projects can take hold quickly.

She sees autonomous operation as the next step.

"When a building is responding instantaneously to command and instruction it can ensure healthy air for occupants, drive operating costs down and talk to the grid, potentially making the building owner money in selling energy capacity or physical energy back to that grid. The trajectory is exciting," she says.

"As we do that, the building goes from being a major climate culprit to a real climate champion."