HSBC data centre achieves green standard UK first

HSBC has been awarded the highest sustainability standard rating for the design and procurement of its new data centre in North London.

Although ground was only broken at the site in February of this year and the building is due for completion in the first half of 2009, the data centre is the first in the UK to be awarded an ‘excellent’ rating, according to the certification managed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE).

The BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) certification is one of the longest established environmental assessment methods for assessing the sustainability and environmental performance of buildings.

Francis Sullivan, HSBC environment advisor said: “This rating is a triumph of collaborative working to produce a sustainable design. Data centres, by definition, are heavy users of energy. Through the work of HSBC and the expertise of consultants, the environmental impacts have been minimised, setting a standard for the UK and HSBC buildings globally.”

As reported by IT PRO in February, this is the first of three new UK-based HSBC data centres, which will all be designed with the same sustainability principles. These are expected to achieve substantial reductions in annual energy and carbon dioxide emissions, resulting in substantial cost savings to the business.

Their construction also forms part of HSBC’s commitment to spending some $40 million (£22 million) to improve the environmental performance of its office buildings around the world. And it has committed to designing all new data centre builds within its global operations according to local environmentally accredited standards, such as BREEAM.

The bank’s focus on data centre and building sustainability is itself, part of a $90 million (£50 million), five-year global environmental efficiency programme to reduce the group’s broader impact on the environment.

Ken Harvey, HSBC Group chief information officer added: “Designing sustainability into all our new global data centres is a victory for everyone. While meeting our corporate commitment to be a carbon neutral bank, we also save operating costs."

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