Colt DCS: The Details on Data Centre Sustainability

Colt Data Centre Services (Colt DCS) has reported a 27% decrease in its greenhouse gas emissions across Scope 1, 2 and 3, measured against its 2019 baseline.

The results, outlined in the company’s fourth annual Sustainability Report, highlight continued progress in decarbonising both its operations and global data centre developments.

In addition to reducing absolute emissions, Colt DCS achieved 100% renewable electricity sourcing for its Scope 2 market-based footprint in 2025 through renewable energy certificates.

Renewable energy made up 90% of the organisation’s total energy consumption across all scopes.

These outcomes follow a double materiality assessment completed in 2024, designed to identify and prioritise key environmental, social and governance considerations.

Evolving the global reference design

A significant component of the 2025 performance update is the ongoing development of the company’s Global Reference Design (GRD).

This framework provides a standardised blueprint for new facilities, while remaining flexible enough to accommodate local regulatory and environmental requirements.

The latest iteration of the design places greater emphasis on embedding energy-efficient systems and lower embodied carbon materials from the earliest stages of construction.

“As the growth of AI introduces new efficiency challenges for data centre operators across the globe, we continue to advance how we design, build and operate our data centres,” says Dina Nassar, Sustainability Lead at Colt DCS.

“Our revised GRD underpins the efficiency gains made in 2025, by ensuring lower embodied carbon materials and advanced cooling technologies are baked in at the design stage.”

Cooling and efficiency innovations

To improve water efficiency, the standard design integrates chilled water systems that use refrigerants with low global warming potential.

These systems operate with minimal water usage and are supported by rainwater harvesting solutions intended for non-potable indoor use.

Additionally, closed-loop liquid cooling systems circulate coolant within sealed environments, transferring heat without the need for evaporation.

Through the adoption of these standardised approaches, Colt DCS is targeting a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of below 1.2 for new developments.

Across its global portfolio, the company recorded an average PUE of 1.41 in 2025.

The framework also establishes waste management targets, including diverting 75% of construction and demolition waste and 90% of operational waste away from landfill.

Certifications and progress to net zero

“We are proud of the progress made in reducing absolute emissions in 2025 as we continue advancing towards our 2045 net zero target,” says Anthea van Scherpenzeel, Head of Environmental Sustainability at Colt DCS.

“Whole life carbon assessments are helping customers and partners identify key sources of value-chain emissions and understand the impact of design and procurement decisions.

“Through close collaboration with suppliers and industry partners, we are confident we can continue delivering projects at speed and scale while making steady progress towards our SBTi targets.”

At site level, sustainability progress includes achieving TRUE Zero Waste certification at three locations: London North in the UK, as well as Tokyo Inzai 1-3 and Osaka Keihanna in Japan.

From a compliance standpoint, Colt DCS retained ISO 27001 certification for information security management globally, alongside ISO 14001 certification for environmental management across its UK and European operations.

The company also received recognition at the Data Centre World Awards as Best Talent Developer of the Year. Internal employee surveys further resulted in a Great Place To Work certification, supported by a 92% employee recommendation score.