We are reducing the carbon emissions of our data centers by optimizing energy consumption and improving processes at the individual data center sites. The Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) metric serves as one indicator for energy-efficiency enhancements in our data centers. We determine this metric using the method recommended by the standard EN50600 for data centers, which has to take the total energy consumed by data centers into account – and not only that used to operate the servers. The PUE factor  is calculated using the ratio between the total electrical energy consumed by the data center and the amount of electrical energy consumed by IT.

In 2022, the average global PUE score for our T-Systems data centers was 1.59. For our data centers in Germany, we reduced the PUE from 1.85 in 2008 to 1.5 in 2022; this value is significantly below the average for all data centers in Germany, which is around 1.8. Our most-efficient high-availability data center has a PUE of 1.3. This will allow us to compensate, in part, for increases in IT systems’ energy requirements as a result of growing volumes of data. Energy consumption is also reduced relative to the increasing processing power of the IT systems as a result of the positive effect on energy efficiency and, by extension, the PUE score. The energy needs of our T-Systems data centers are met entirely from renewable sources.

Data centers are becoming more energy-efficient
As part of the DC11@2018 program, we worked until the end of 2018 to combine data center capacity worldwide in FMO (future mode of operation) data centers with the latest IT technology and hence improved energy efficiency. Physical data center consolidation (reducing data center space and sites) was combined with logical consolidation (virtualizing IT infrastructure ). Within the scope of the physical consolidation, we decommissioned several old data centers in Germany.

The follow-up program “Data Center Next” was launched in 2019. Our aim is to further homogenize and virtualize the IT landscape, and to optimize utilization of the data center infrastructure according to IT requirements. The Data Center Next program is making use of efficiency-enhancing options, such as selective cooling of individual areas, and temperature increases within allowed ranges – always in conformance with defined thresholds. With such efforts, we plan to achieve efficiency improvements across the board.

A majority of our high-availability, modern internal FMO twin-core data centers were included in the EU Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency (EU CoC) at the end of 2020. We therefore meet, to a large extent, one of the criteria of the European regulation for sustainable business (EU Taxonomy). At the same time, we are working to further optimize energy efficiency in all data centers.