On May 5-6, the Green Building Initiative (GBI) hosted its Better Buildings: Data Centers Seminar at the Dallas Arboretum.  The garden setting was a beautiful reminder of the natural world we are working so hard to protect.

Attendees gathered for a movie night for Tuesday kick-off event featuring Bloomberg’s report, “The World Needs AI, But There’s a Problem.” The film focused on the growing anxiety local communities feel toward data centers. It set a tone for the rest of the conference.

Noah Goldstein, Sustainability Lead at Google kicked off the opening day by addressing the “elephant in the room.” He spoke candidly about the fact that as an industry, we can – and must – do better at addressing community concerns regarding our environmental footprint. He also showcased his Google Gemini AI graphics at work but there’s room for improvement on that as well.

Amy Marks, SVP of Innovation & Sustainability at Compass Datacenters echoed this sentiment with a powerful perspective on how to view community uprising. She challenged us to “take advantage of community pushback to enforce sustainable choices.” Instead of seeing friction as an obstacle, she argued, we should see it as the very catalyst we need to make the right decisions for the planet.

The Power Paradox

The power challenge was addressed throughout the discussions. With ERCOT forecasting a staggering 367 GW by 2033 and a $15 billion transmission infrastructure buildout on the horizon, the pressure is immense.

Chad Seely, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at ERCOT led the conversation, emphasizing the grid is evolving but asking developers to come to the table with truly innovative solutions. It is no longer enough to plug in, developers must be active participants in the stability of our energy future.

Wes Cummins of Applied Digital noted that most data center developers don’t want to be  in the business of building power plants – it’s not their core expertise. Yet, the industry is being forced to evolve into energy providers now.  

The power discussion sparked some provocative questions: Will data center developers eventually join forces to build nuclear power plants to supply power?  How will that shift impact our already strained water resources?

Greener Data Authors Share Insights

GBI generously gave away copies of JSA’s Greener Data: Actionable Insights from Industry Leaders (Volume 3). Many of the book’s authors were present at the seminar to personally sign copies for attendees, fostering the collaborative spirit that defines the Greener Data movement. It served as a reminder that while sustainability challenges are global, the solutions are being written by the people sitting right next to us.

JSA TV: Capturing the Voices of Sustainability Experts

Our own Dean Perrine sat down with some of the thought leaders to ask the hard questions :

• How has the conversation around sustainable data centers changed in the last three years, and what is driving that change?
• How do you ensure sustainability is built into your projects from inception, and how are we holding each other accountable?
• What role do third-party certifications and standards play in moving the industry from intention to action?
• As the world demands more data, how do you personally balance the need for digital growth with the need to protect our planet and its resources?
• How are you working with your partners (or even your competitors) to drive innovation in efficiency, resilience, and decarbonization?
• Looking five to ten years down the road, what is the one “sustainability milestone” you’ll be most proud to say you were a part of?

Listen to the sustainable expert interviews:

• Bill Kleyman Apolo at Better Buildings: Data Center Seminar | Balancing AI Growth with Sustainable Infrastructure
• Miranda Gardiner of iMasons Climate Accord  | Turning Sustainability Goals into Industry Action
• Mark Gusakov of The Digital Infrastructure Alliance at Better Buildings | Why Transparency Matters
• Amy Marks of Compass Datacenters at Better Buildings: Data Center Seminar | Scaling Sustainable Innovation
• Phill Lawson-Shanks Aligned Data Centers at Better Buildings | Building Sustainability Into Every Layer
• Wes Cummins of Applied Digital at Better Buildings | Building AI Infrastructure Around Available Power
• Holly Elwood of Global Electronics Council at Better Buildings | Advancing Sustainable Electronics  
• Sumayyah Theron of Avant Garde at Better Buildings: Data Center Seminar | Sustainability Goals to Measurable Impact 
• Soumya Anantharaman of JLL at Better Buildings: Data Center Seminar | Using Energy Efficiency to Unlock Data Center Growth
• Dan Moore of CyrusOne at Better Buildings: Data Center Seminar | Scaling Sustainability Across Data Centers

Green Building Initiative

The GBI Better Buildings Seminar reminded us that we cannot solve these problems in silos and emphasized the power of partnerships to accelerate sustainability in the built environment and help GBI to refine its standards, roadmaps, and certifications.   A vital tool in this mission is GBI’s Data Center Campus Certification, designed to increase efficiency and improve sustainability for multiple buildings on a single site.  

The GBI speakers provided the hard truths. Now, it’s up to all of us to turn those truths into a greener reality.

Stay tuned to JSA’s social channels for the full JSA TV interview series from the GBI Seminar!