"Constructing datacenters accounts for 39 percent of their total carbon dioxide emissions, almost as much as operating them, according to an environmental analysis covering the entire lifecycle of a facility. The finding comes from a white paper published by European datacenter operator Data4, which conducted a lifecycle assessment (LCA) of one of its own facilities with the assistance of design and engineering consultants APL Data Center."
"Data4 estimates that over 20 years, the carbon footprint of its datacenter comes to 12.6 million kg of CO 2 equivalent, or matching the carbon emissions of about 300 French people over the same period. The facility in question is a 5 MW unit at its Marcoussis campus near Paris, which makes it a relatively modest concern in comparison with many hyperscale server farms or those being built for AI operations."
"The construction phase of the datacenter accounted for 39 percent of all the emissions, but this includes the production of equipment, and all the emissions accrued by the production of the building materials used in the facility's structure, particularly the concrete and steel. The environmental impacts associated with the actual construction project itself are relatively marginal, the report states. Some Reg readers may recall that in 2024 Microsoft reported its total carbon dioxide emissions as rising by nearly 30 percent since 2020, despite its pledge to become carbon-negative by 2030. The Windows-maker attributed this to indirect emissions (Scope 3) from the construction and provisioning of lots more datacenters to meet the burgeoning demand for cloud services and AI."
An LCA of a 5 MW datacenter at Marcoussis finds construction generates 39% of the facility’s total lifecycle CO2 emissions, nearly matching operational emissions. The 20-year carbon footprint measures about 12.6 million kg CO 2 equivalent, comparable to emissions from roughly 300 French citizens over the same period. The construction share includes production of equipment and the embodied emissions in building materials, especially concrete and steel, while on-site construction activities are relatively minor. Rapid expansion of datacenter capacity for cloud and AI increases Scope 3 emissions, prompting initiatives such as greener concrete mixes.
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