Digital Realty Earns 2021 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for Second Consecutive Year

Rhea-AI Summary

Digital Realty has been awarded the 2021 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. EPA and Department of Energy for its sustainability initiatives. This marks the second consecutive year the company has received this honor. Its PlatformDIGITAL® is lauded for enhancing operational efficiency, aiming to reduce its carbon footprint by 2030. In 2020, Digital Realty achieved 31 ENERGY STAR certifications, with energy savings equivalent to powering 115,000 U.S. homes. The firm also raised its ENERGY STAR score by 48.5% and minimized non-IT energy use by 4.2%.

Positive

• Received 2021 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award for the second consecutive year.
• Achieved 31 ENERGY STAR certifications for data center facilities.
• Reduced CO2 emissions by 678,000 metric tons annually compared to industry averages.
• Saved 959,000 MWh of energy, enough to power approximately 115,000 average U.S. homes.
• Increased average ENERGY STAR score by 48.5% from 2019 to 2020.

Negative

• None.

AUSTIN, Texas, April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Realty, the largest global provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, is pleased to announce it has received the 2021 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy for its focus on driving sustainable design and operations on PlatformDIGITAL®, a first of its kind global data center platform for scaling business transformation and the digital workplace.  

"Digital Realty is honored to be recognized as an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for the second year in a row," said Digital Realty Chief Executive Officer A. William Stein.  "Entire industries have been reshaped over the past 12 months as the shift to a digital economy has accelerated.  For our part, we have sharpened our focus on consistently implementing best practices in sustainability, enabling a new era of connected global data communities, and establishing ambitious, science-based targets to significantly reduce our carbon footprint by 2030." 

EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan added, "ENERGY STAR award-winning partners are showing the world that delivering real climate solutions makes good business sense and promotes job growth.  Many of them have been doing it for years, inspiring all of us who are committed to tackling the climate crisis and leading the way to a clean energy economy." 

Digital Realty is committed to building a trusted foundation for the digital world, and the company's sustainability and energy management initiatives are critical to this effort.  In 2020, Digital Realty received ENERGY STAR certifications for an industry-leading 31 data center facilities encompassing 7.5 million square feet and representing a 21% increase by IT capacity in the portion of its U.S. data center portfolio with an ENERGY STAR certification.  Compared to industry-average data centers, Digital Realty's ENERGY STAR-certified facilities reduce emissions by 678,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year and save 959,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy, enough to power approximately 115,000 average U.S. homes. 

Digital Realty's sustainability accomplishments in 2020 that contributed to the award include: 

• Benchmarking 100% of the company's managed U.S. data center portfolio in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager for energy, water and waste
  
  
• Communicating ENERGY STAR value and recognition via multi-channel sources
  
  
• Setting a carbon reduction target with the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), in line with a 1.5-degree climate change scenario, and incorporating energy conservation and energy efficiency improvements as a key strategy in setting and achieving the target
  
  
• Raising Digital Realty's average ENERGY STAR score by 48.5% and reducing non-IT energy use by 4.2% from 2019 to 2020

Each year, the ENERGY STAR program honors a group of businesses and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through superior energy achievements.  ENERGY STAR Award Winners lead their industries in the production, sale, and adoption of energy-efficient products, services and strategies.  These efforts are essential to fighting the climate crisis and protecting public health.  

Winners are selected from a network of thousands of ENERGY STAR partners.  For a complete list of 2021 winners and for more information about ENERGY STAR's awards program, please visit energystar.gov/awardwinners. 

Additional Resources:

• See the complete list of 2021 ENERGY STAR Award Winners
  
  
• Learn more Digital Realty's commitment to sustainability in the company's annual Environmental, Social and Governance report
  
  
• Read CEO Bill Stein's blog on the company's global carbon reduction targets through SBTi
  
  
• Explore global coverage options to sustainably scale digital business on PlatformDIGITAL

About Digital Realty
Digital Realty supports the world's leading enterprises and service providers by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions.  PlatformDIGITAL®, the company's global data center platform, provides customers a trusted foundation and proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx™) solution methodology for scaling digital business and efficiently managing data gravity challenges.  Digital Realty's global data center footprint gives customers access to the connected communities that matter to them with more than 275 facilities in 47 metros across 24 countries on six continents.  To learn more about Digital Realty, please visit digitalrealty.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 

Media & Industry Analyst Relations
Marc Musgrove
Digital Realty
+1 (415) 508-2812
mmusgrove@digitalrealty.com

Investor Relations
John Stewart / Jim Huseby
Digital Realty
+1 (415) 738-6500
investorrelations@digitalrealty.com

About ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions.  Thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state, and local organizations—including more than 40 percent of the Fortune 500®—rely on their partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions.  Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners have helped American families and businesses avoid more than $450 billion in energy costs and achieve four billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions.  More background information about ENERGY STAR can be found at: https://www.energystar.gov/about and https://www.energystar.gov/about/origins_mission/energy_star_numbers

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially, including statements related to PlatformDIGITAL and our sustainability programs, accomplishments and goals.  For a list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the company's reports and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  The company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

 

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SOURCE Digital Realty

FAQ

What award did Digital Realty receive in 2021?

Digital Realty received the 2021 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award from the U.S. EPA and Department of Energy.

How many ENERGY STAR certifications does Digital Realty have?

Digital Realty achieved 31 ENERGY STAR certifications for its data center facilities in 2020.

What is Digital Realty's goal for carbon reduction?

Digital Realty aims to significantly reduce its carbon footprint by 2030.

How much energy did Digital Realty save in 2020?

In 2020, Digital Realty saved 959,000 megawatt-hours of energy, enough to power about 115,000 average U.S. homes.

What was the increase in Digital Realty's ENERGY STAR score from 2019 to 2020?

Digital Realty raised its average ENERGY STAR score by 48.5% from 2019 to 2020.