Good for business, good for the planet: how sustainable colocation supports your ESG goals

Doing the right thing for the planet has become a core part of modern business strategy. Customers and investors expect to see real environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments. But there’s often a power-hungry elephant in the server room: your IT infrastructure.

Your servers, storage and networking kit are the engines of your business, but they also use electricity. Lots of it. In fact, according to the International Energy Agency, data centres and data transmission networks each account for around 1-1.5% of global electricity use.

Given that your server room is probably one of the biggest drains on your power bill and a real headache for your carbon footprint, how can you run the high-performance infrastructure you need while also meeting your sustainability targets?

The strategic move to a sustainable data centre

For many businesses, the answer is colocation – as long as you choose the right type (but more on that later).

Moving your hardware into a purpose-built, sustainable data centre is a smart operational move and a powerful statement of your environmental commitment. It’s a way to improve your efficiency and resilience while shrinking your carbon footprint.

Here’s how it helps you deliver on your ESG goals:

1. It’s built on clean energy

A truly sustainable data centre should be powered by 100% renewable energy, making it the single most effective way to cut the emissions associated with your IT. At Zen, that’s exactly what our data centre does. By running our entire operation on 100% renewables, we help our customers make a significant and immediate impact on their carbon accounting. It’s that simple.

2. Efficiency is built in

On-premise server rooms are rarely shining examples of energy efficiency. Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) figures suggest that an inefficient setup can easily waste a watt of energy on cooling for every watt that powers your IT. And those wasted watts quickly add up.

But modern purpose-built data centres are engineered from the ground up to minimise waste, with everything from their cooling systems to power infrastructure designed for maximum efficiency.

3. It makes your reporting credible

Making sustainability claims is easy. Proving them is the hard part. When you partner with a provider that has its own verified credentials – like Zen’s Carbon Neutral status and B Corp certification – it adds real weight and credibility to your own ESG reporting. It shows you’re making considered, responsible choices throughout your supply chain and really helps to keep those Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions to a minimum.

4. It’s good for your bottom line, too

It’s obvious how a focus on efficiency has sustainability advantages. But those advantages extend to your finances too. For your business, that means long-term benefits like predictable costs, lower maintenance overheads, and freedom from fluctuating energy bills – quite the opposite of many of the challenges presented by on-premise facilities. It’s a clear example of how doing the right thing for the planet can also be the smart thing for your business.

5. It connects with your customers

Modern customers are savvy. They know what they want. And increasingly that includes expecting the businesses they buy from to make a positive impact. Research shows that 88% of consumers show increased loyalty to businesses that advocate for social or environmental issues.

Your commitment to sustainability helps you build trust, strengthen loyalty, and connect with customers who want to choose businesses that share their values.

More than just a data centre: the Zen difference

The sustainability benefits of colocation are clear, but back to that earlier point. They’re only as good as the provider you choose. A truly valuable partnership goes beyond the physical building to the people, principles and network that support it.

At Zen, we combine independent ownership, strong values, and deep technical expertise to give you more than just rack space:

• Independently owned and B Corp certified: We’re not driven by shareholder pressure. Our focus is on long term relationships and doing business the right way. That commitment is even baked into our purpose statement: Do right by people and planet.
• UK-based and operated facility: Your critical data always remains under UK jurisdiction, giving you peace of mind around compliance and security.
• Connected to one of the UK’s largest independent networks: Enjoy high-speed, resilient performance with the capacity your business needs today and in the future.
• Expert engineers on-site: Our highly qualified team is always available to provide direct, expert support when you need it.

If you’re already a Zen customer, our colocation data centre hosting integrates seamlessly with your other Zen connectivity and networking services, giving you:

• A single point of contact for your entire infrastructure
• Simplified management
• No more juggling multiple suppliers

A clear choice for the future

Making a smart choice about where your infrastructure lives is a practical step you can take today. It’s good for the planet – and it’s good for your business too.

Explore sustainable colocation from Zen.