Third Annual ESG Report Highlights Vantage’s Continued Progress and Dedication to Responsible Growth

Few technologies have captured as much attention as artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years. AI’s impressive capability to perform complex tasks that previously required human intelligence has prompted organizations across many industries—including healthcare, education and financial services—to race to build and train their own AI models and applications.

This has resulted in massive demand for data center space equipped to handle unique AI requirements. It has also raised awareness of the ever-increasing power demands of the data center industry and the associated environmental challenges.

With demand at an all-time high, hyperscalers and other large data center customers are looking to work with providers who take modern environmental challenges seriously. They want a data center partner who shares their values and prioritizes sustainability initiatives, among other important equity initiatives. This has made dedicated environmental, social and governance (ESG) programs with aggressive goals and initiatives essential in the data center industry.

Each year, Vantage Data Centers releases an ESG Report, which assesses and reports on the progress we’ve made toward our ESG initiatives. Last week, we published our most recent annual report, themed “Growth that Preserves,” which demonstrates and highlights our continued progress in 2023 amid rapid global growth to be even more sustainable, inclusive and equitable.

“2023 was a year of remarkable growth in an era of artificial intelligence and cloud adoption,” explained Sureel Choksi, president and CEO of Vantage Data Centers. “While we are incredibly excited about the expanded opportunity afforded by the global demand for digital infrastructure, we remain focused on not only growing but growing responsibly in alignment with the priorities of our investors and our customers.”

Every two years, we conduct a comprehensive materiality assessment supported by a consulting firm. In 2023, our ESG assessment was updated to align with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Customers, investors, suppliers, community representatives and employees were surveyed on various ESG-related topics. The results provided us with an understanding of stakeholder priorities, establishing the foundation of the initiatives outlined in the report.

Here are nine highlights from our latest ESG Report:

ESG Report: Vantage Data Center’s Environmental Stewardship

• Driving emissions reductions to net zero by 2030: Vantage Data Centers is committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions for scopes 1 and 2 by 2030. This past year, we continued deploying generator run-time reduction programs and using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) in more backup generators as a cleaner fuel source than diesel. We also implemented operational performance reporting of key sustainability metrics.
• Investments in renewable energy: Expanding our multi-pronged approach to securing and using renewable energy, Vantage Data Centers now has 10 locations across North America and EMEA powered in part by renewable energy, from hydro to tidal and wind.
• Continued attention on water and waste: 2023 also brought a continued focus on minimizing the use of water and waste. We continue to leverage a highly efficient closed-loop chilled water system generated through air-cooled chillers for cooling, yielding a Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) ratio near zero. Additionally, minimizing waste during construction and operations has become a standard procedure at every campus, from using green concrete and steel at multiple sites to achieving Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Solutions Zero Waste Certification for the construction phase at a project in Quebec City, Canada.

ESG Report: Social Responsibility at Vantage Data Centers

• Deepening commitment to employee affinity groups and well-being:

  

  Welcoming 317 new employees, Vantage Data Center’s workforce grew by 31 percent in 2023. Alongside that growth, we increased our focus on global affinity groups, including the Black Employee Network, the Mental Health and Well-Being Network, the Muslim Employee Group, the Women’s Leadership Network and Vantage Veterans to ensure each group is rooted in action and empowerment. We also increased mental health and well-being programs to provide employees with access to resources and education. This has helped create a positive work environment for our high-performing team.

• Continuous learning: Several professional development and training programs were launched last year. These programs included Learning Labs, designed to help employees expand their soft skills, Manager Essentials, designed to help managers lead their teams effectively, and Leadership Unlocked, a program focused on upskilling high-potential leaders through a “leader as coach” curriculum.
• Community engagement: Vantage Data Centers remains committed to giving back to our communities and recently created a framework to provide guidance for organizing and optimizing philanthropic initiatives throughout the lifecycle of data center development, from site selection to construction and operations. In addition, we launched a new benefit that provides employees paid time off for volunteering.

ESG Report: Vantage Data Centers and Ethical Governance

• Center of Excellence: To provide strategic direction amid the extraordinary growth they achieved in 2023, Vantage Data Centers formed an ESG Center of Excellence (COE). This new governing body leads the continued development of our ESG strategy and implementation. The COE reviews and updates policies to align with emerging best practices, changing regulations, and stakeholder expectations.

“Given the extraordinary growth we achieved in 2023, it became clear that a central governance forum was required to provide strategic direction, oversight and alignment on a range of important ESG activities across the organization,” said Ismail Alsheik, chief legal officer and executive sponsor of the COE. “Delivering strong governance of our ESG program ensures that Vantage Data Centers continues to meet the needs of our stakeholders as we scale.”

• Standardizing reporting: In 2023, to accommodate global regulators and stakeholders advocating for increased disclosures, we voluntarily adopted two new international reporting frameworks—the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)—to contribute to the systemization of global reporting standards.
• Vision Zero: Vantage Data Center’s strategic approach to preventing safety-related issues, Vision Zero remained a critical component of our Environmental Health & Safety program (EH&S). Despite logging a 31% increase in construction hours worked compared to 2022, we achieved a Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) of .36, which is well below the industry average.

To download a copy of Vantage Data Center’s 2023 ESG Report and take a deeper dive into the progress and innovation we’ve made towards our ESG initiatives, click HERE.