The data center industry has spent too long chasing “good on paper” sustainability metrics, all the while absolute emissions continue to rise.
In many ways, traditional metrics such as power usage effectiveness (PUE) represent only the visible tip of the iceberg – a narrow surface indicator of efficiency, while the far larger mass of environmental impact sits below the waterline, unseen.
Predictable, relatively uniform classical workloads that could be steadily optimized over the past two decades have led to operator complacency. But today, the AI era has fundamentally changed that landscape, introducing volatile, highly dynamic demand patterns that place unprecedented pressure on infrastructure planning and energy systems alike.
The next thousand days are going to define the next 30 years of infrastructure – the pace of acceleration is reshaping not just how we operate but how and where demand shows up
Aparna Prabhakar, Schneider Electric
