Vertiv unveils 2023 report with new environmental initiatives
Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, has recently issued its 2023 Responsible Business Report. The document details the firm’s ongoing progress in several key areas, alongside the introduction of its comprehensive One Vertiv, One World plan. This initiative aims to advance principles of environmental stewardship, promote a safe and inclusive workplace, and ensure responsible business conduct.
In 2023, Vertiv made significant strides towards realising its vision of building a responsible future. The company's focus encompassed efficient products and systems, responsible operations, employee well-being, community engagement, supply chain integrity, and governance. Acknowledging the paramount role the technology and data centre industries have in the global energy landscape, the One Vertiv, One World plan is intended to steer the company’s future actions in creating long-term value for shareholders, customers, and the broader community.
Vertiv's CEO, Giordano Albertazzi, accentuated the company’s dual focus on maintaining its role as a responsible corporate entity while delivering solutions that aid customers in achieving their environmental sustainability goals. He noted, "With demand for AI growing rapidly across the world, we at Vertiv are providing infrastructure products, systems, and services that enable our customers to advance their AI initiatives with high performance and a lower environmental impact."
The report highlights several efforts and initiatives undertaken by Vertiv throughout the year. These include the expansion of high-efficiency liquid cooling solutions and the introduction of low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants, which assist customers in advancing their AI initiatives with minimal environmental impact. Furthermore, the acquisition of CoolTera, a specialist in liquid cooling solutions, has bolstered Vertiv’s thermal management capabilities.
Additionally, Vertiv rolled out a new battery energy storage system (BESS) with lithium-ion batteries. This system offers utility-scale energy storage, which can act as an always-on power supply. It supports operational resilience, reduces peak demand charges, and facilitates reliance on alternative energy sources like solar panels, wind turbines, and hydrogen fuel cells, thereby helping to reduce carbon emissions and maintain reliability. At Vertiv's Delaware, Ohio facility, a microgrid solution was unveiled, featuring solar arrays and hydrogen fuel cells. This setup serves as both an energy source for operations and a test bed to demonstrate reduced carbon emissions solutions for customers.
The introduction of Vertiv’s TimberMod, which utilises mass timber rather than steel for prefabricated modular data centre solutions, represents another step towards resource conservation and reducing carbon footprints. Additionally, Vertiv released an updated Guide to Data Centre Sustainability, providing its customers and other stakeholders with pertinent information and revised statistics to support their sustainability efforts.
Moreover, Vertiv has improved its operational efficiency by refining processes to streamline the collection of environmental impact metrics, including carbon emissions, energy consumption, water usage, and waste generation and recycling. A notable example of these efforts is the water reclamation system at the Monterrey, Mexico facility, which captures water from air conditioning units and repurposes it, thereby reducing dependency on the municipal water supply.
Vertiv also reported on its commitment to making a positive impact within the communities it serves. The company underscored its dedication to supply chain integrity by ensuring compliance with leading industry standards pertaining to responsible minerals, human rights, and labour conditions.
In Asia, Vertiv is contributing to the region’s significant investments in developing efficient and environmentally responsible digital infrastructure amidst strong governmental support. Paul Churchill, Vice President and General Manager at Vertiv Asia, expressed enthusiasm for helping customers achieve data centre efficiency goals. An example of Vertiv’s initiatives in the region is its collaboration with the Singapore Tropical Data Centre Testbed, which aims to address the unique cooling challenges of tropical data centres and foster innovation in the industry. Churchill highlighted the importance of the One Vertiv, One World plan in reinforcing Vertiv’s commitment to offering efficient power and cooling infrastructure while promoting principles of integrity and responsible stewardship.
