Dutch data center developer and operator Switch Datacenters just launched its 2025 Sustainability Report, outlining a clear pathway to reach net-positive impact by 2040.
One of the main takeaways? Community engagement and cooperative stakeholder models are needed to achieve this level of data center sustainability.
For example, the team is working with a local municipality on warming thousands of homes with a district heating network using green residual heat from AMS4 — one of their three operational Amsterdam-based facilities. Switch Datacenters collaborates with municipalities, grid operators and local stakeholders from the earliest planning stages to bring these projects to life. The team has also decreased water withdrawal at one facility by 41%.
Additional metrics include:
- Consistent achievement of ultra-low PUE, with some locations operating regularly at 1.17
- The elimination of market-based Scope 2 emissions, through 100% local renewable electricity procurement
- In 2024, waste diversion rates exceeded 97% for non-hazardous waste, demonstrating strong material recovery performance
Despite the company growing its footprint to over 1GW capacity in the coming years with plans for six new data center builds, the team is working toward aggressive ESG targets.
The company’s Managing Director & CCO, Edgar Van Essen, said: “We have an obligation to respond to the impact of climate change, to help advance the energy transition that European countries like the Netherlands are actively pursuing.”
“We view sustainability as an essential and integrated business practice for a digital infrastructure company, not a parallel initiative or a compliance exercise driven by regulatory demands,” added Cara Mascini, Chief Sustainability Officer at Switch Datacenters. “In an industry facing escalating scrutiny over energy use and social impact, we present ESG not as a constraint, but as a source of resilience and long-term value creation.”
Click here to read the full report: https://switchdatacenters.com/esg-report-2025
Follow this link to see Cara discuss the highlights from the report.
