- Garam Bel
- Rosie McDonald
- XIAOLU ZHANG
Introductory
Event organizer(s)
Description
Reliable, secure data-hosting solutions are becoming increasingly important to support everyday functions across societies. Although data infrastructure such as data centers and cloud solutions are essential for storing and processing data, they are highly energy intensive and consume refrigerants and often large amounts of water for cooling. As such, they leave a large environmental footprint and contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Climate change also affects data centers. Climate hazards such as floods and increasing temperatures put data centers at risk and require climate-resiliency measures to protect investments and ensure resilient data storage. The aim of this e-learning is to inspire and inform practitioners on how to green data storage investments and create an enabling environment conducive to green data infrastructure.
Policymakers interested in digital topics, civil servants procuring digital services such as data centers and ICT equipment, civil society, and other relevant stakeholders.
Building reliable, high-performing data centers is key to driving digital connectivity. But data centers also face risks from natural hazards and climate change while putting pressure on fragile public infrastructure, like energy and water supply.
This course offers a unique perspective on green data centers, highlighting their role not just in environmental sustainability, but also in addressing critical challenges such as IT security, digital inclusion and financial efficiency.
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Explain the connection between climate-resilient data centers and IT security
- Name key features that differentiate green data centers e. g. regarding energy efficiency, water, cooling technology, and waste management
- Discuss how sustainable practices in green data centers mitigate risks posed by climate change and natural hazards
- Apply green public procurement principles when drafting requirements for data centers and ICT equipment
- Name elements of a policy framework suitable for the establishment of green data centers.
The training objectives will be reached upon the completion of the e-learning, its interactive modules, and its final assessment. No extra work will be required of participants.
On successful completion of an assessment quiz, participants will receive an ITU badge when a score of 80% or higher is achieved.
Module 1: Introduction to Green & Climate-Resilient Data Centers
Participants will get introduced to the e-learning and understand how to navigate and use the e-learning. Participants will explore the key concepts of green data centers.
Module 2: Greening Data Infrastructure: Climate Change Mitigation
Participants explore strategies for enhancing the climate resilience of data centers, highlights the importance of climate resilience, outlines climate risks and hazards to data centers, and presents steps for increasing data center resilience to climate change.
Five dimensions of sustainable data center infrastructure are explored:
- Location & Design
- ICT Equipment
- Energy Consumption
- Cooling
- Lifecycle Management
Module 3: Greening Public Procurement of Data Centers
Participants learn about green public procurement of data centers. Green public procurement (GPP) is an approach to enhancing environmental sustainability of procurement, including for data centers and server infrastructure. Introducing GPP in procurement of data infrastructure can also support the broader data center market’s green transition.
Module 4: Greening the Enabling Environment for Data Centers
Participants explore the strategies to establish an enabling environment for sustainable data centers. As the data center sector globally strives for sustainability, governments can influence this transformation through various instruments, including laws, incentives, and services that can guide the data center sector toward greener outcomes.
Registration information
Unless specified otherwise, all ITU Academy training courses are open to all interested professionals, irrespective of their race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, economic status and other diverse backgrounds. We strongly encourage registrations from female participants, and participants from developing countries. This includes least developed countries, small island developing states and landlocked developing countries.
