A Green Mark scheme has been introduced for new data centres in Singapore to encourage them to adopt energy-efficient design, technologies and systems early on in the planning and design phase. Jointly developed by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), this new category is an addition to the BCA-IDA Green Mark scheme which was first launched in October 2012 and only covered existing data centres.

The first of its kind in Asia, the BCA-IDA Green Mark for New Data Centres scheme was launched during the Green Data Centre Forum 2013 held on 14 March. The scheme relies on energy modelling to assess the performance of a proposed data centre design. The key criteria of assessment include energy efficiency, water efficiency, sustainable construction and management, indoor environment quality and other green features. Based on their total Green Mark score, data centres can be rated to achieve Green Mark Platinum, GoldPLUS, Gold or Certified ratings.

At the presentation of the BCA-IDA Green Mark awards: (From left) Mr Leong Keng Thai, Deputy Chief Executive & Director-General (Telecoms & Post), IDA; Dr John Keung, CEO, BCA; Mr Trevor Parsons, Vice President, Corporate Real Estate Services, Critical Engineering Systems, Credit Suisse Asia Pacific; Mr Clement Goh, Managing Director, South Asia, Equinix; Guest of Honour, BCA Chairman Mr Quek See Tiat; Mr Leong Yue Kheong, Assistant Chief Executive, International Group & Corporate Development Group, Singapore Tourism Board; Mr Paul E Hennenfent, Divisional Vice President, Infrastructure Services, Abbot Laboratories Singapore.

Abbott Laboratories Singapore became the pioneer recipient of the BCA-IDA Green Mark Award for New Data Centres when it received the accolade from BCA Chairman Mr Quek See Tiat during the Forum. The company’s data centre was rated Green Mark Gold in recognition of its efforts to introduce efficient-design strategies such as the use of modular design which optimises performance through growing capacity in response to usage demand, the selection of energy-efficient IT equipment and the deployment of virtualisation technology. Abbott's experience serves to underline how data centres can potentially realise significant cost savings by targeting energy efficiency in the design and operations phase. When fully operational, Abbott's data centre is expected to achieve energy savings of more than one million kilowatt hours annually.

Three other data centres - Credit Suisse Asia Pacific Regional Data Centre (Platinum award), Equinix SG2 Data Centre (GoldPLUS award) and Singapore Tourism Board Data Centre (Gold award) - were also presented with the BCA-IDA Green Mark Awards under the Existing Data Centres category during the event, making them the pioneer batch of data centres to be formally recognised under the scheme.

The BCA-IDA Green Mark for Data Centres was the result of a two-year collaborative effort between BCA and IDA, with supporting partners from Energy Research Institute@Nanyang Technological University and Lawrence Berkeley National Labs in the United States.

In his opening remarks at the Green Data Centre Forum, Mr Leong Keng Thai, Deputy Chief Executive & Director-General (Telecoms & Post) of IDA noted that as demand for data centre space increases, there is a need to ensure the sustainable development of data centres in an energy-constrained world.

According to a 2010 Broadgroup report, Singapore's total commercial data centre capacity is forecast to rise by 51 per cent to 336,900 sqm by 2015, from 222,829 sqm. There are currently more than 50 data centres in Singapore, of which 20 can be classified as large data centres. A typical large data centre in Singapore is estimated to consume energy equivalent to 10,000 households. By aiming for Green Mark certification, data centres can identify energy efficiency opportunities and stand to gain significant cost savings.

"Data centres can improve their cost-competitiveness by reducing overall energy usage, as the energy bill makes up a significant portion of their operating budget. Thus, it makes good business sense for data centres to go green and be energy-efficient,” said Mr Leong, noting that those who achieve the highest rating under the BCA-IDA Green Mark can potentially reap Power Usage Effectiveness of up to 35 per cent.

Aside from cost savings, Dr John Keung, Chief Executive Officer of BCA, said green data centres may also open up market opportunities through increased credibility and recognition by clients for their environmentally-friendly initiatives. “Going green is a win-win solution and I hope more data centre owners will be inspired by our inaugural award winners and come on board the scheme."