Can we unlock the societal benefits of a data-centre boom?
POSSIBILITIES
Consulting with communities before developing data centres can result in wider benefits
The data centres sector is growing 10 to 20 times faster than that of the wider UK economy and, according to several predictions, the global market is growing at around 20% a year. Their importance is recognised by the UK government, designating them as critical national infrastructure alongside energy and water systems. But there is a growing backlash against data centre developments that could eventually polarise issues.
The resource-hungry nature of data centres is increasingly perceived to be an issue, whether it’s in terms of energy, water, land or the hardware and microchips themselves. In the Netherlands, Ireland and Singapore, their resource needs have been significant enough for these nations to apply moratoriums on their construction at some point. Even when bans have been lifted, there have been stricter guidelines for developments that followed.
Can we reframe the debate? Data centre developments have the potential to be beacons, catalysts and nodes for social and economic gains if fully realised. This was the finding of our report ‘DC Society: Putting Community into Data Centre Thinking’. We spoke to several key players from the industry as well as sociology experts to gain insight into the ways that data centres can be more socially integrated into their local communities and they found missed opportunities that could supercharge the communities that embrace them.
Data centres do not need to be pitted in competition with local people for access to resources; they can enable other opportunities for people instead. The placement of data centres, and defining their relationship with the community around them, has the potential to improve health outcomes, create jobs, support research centres and draw in high-value data industries. Data centre developers have a responsibility to work with other stakeholders to create a positive impact on society, beyond data buildings and campuses.
Derek Main Technical Director for Mission Critical and Data Centres, Hoare Lea
LET'S TALK
A social charter for UK data centres
The principles
Understanding a community’s needs is a crucial part of the process for any large-scale development, and with data centre development it is no different. Alongside the technology, security, and energy efficiency, data centres would benefit greatly by being designed with societal insight. If data centre developers and owners opt into a social contract with their neighbours all parties can benefit.
Dr Paul Hanna Head of Societal Impacts, Hoare Lea
LET'S TALK
The built environment community, engineers and developers can do a lot more to build a better case for data centres at the heart of our communities. A portfolio approach is crucial; one that accounts for all the co-benefits that data centres can provide.
The sector can be creative about clustering or agglomeration – where there are multiple benefits for local communities to develop data centres. If we put communities at the heart of data centre developments, we start to get co-benefits because we start new conversations with utilities, for example, on power sharing or businesses on data centre usage. This is where visualising a pyramid of local needs and benefits can help.
Building on this visualisation, our Societal Insights team has developed a social charter. It has six principles that industry partners and local authorities can work on collectively. Each principle builds on the last, increasing the degree to which they enable social justice and social value in the process of data centre design, planning and construction.
Each community is different, so each of the guiding principles in this charter seek to set a new social contract that can be adapted to the unique characteristics of each development.
Our hope is that principles for engagement will be used by local authorities and developers to facilitate community-led master planning. There will be better outcomes if communities are stakeholders in data centres, resulting in developments that are de-risked with a shorter timeline to delivery, as well as the potential for further growth of assets.
Share this on LinkedIn