On October 18th, one of the industry leaders in carrier-neutral hyperscale data center solutions, Chindata Group ("Chindata" or "the Group") (Nasdaq: CD), released its third annual Environmental, Social, and Governance ("ESG") Report (the "ESG Report"). The 2021 Chindata ESG Report includes details about the company's approach towards carbon neutrality under the "DATA" strategy and outlines the Chindata's mission of supporting a better life with sustainable data storage facilities.
Detailed within the ESG Report is the company's "DATA" strategy, which stands for zero-carbon-first, environmental sustainability, tech-driven, and maintaining a willingness to take the lead. Chindata notes the underlying thinking and processes involved in developing the newest generation of green data centers, relying on the Power Usage Effectiveness (the "PUE") metric as a core indicator of the "greenness" of the centers. According to a 2021 data survey released by a global authoritative data center standard organization, Uptime Institute, the average PUE of global hyperscale data centers is 1.57. For Chindata, the annual average operating PUE over the last three years was 1.21, 1.22, and 1.21, respectively, markedly lower than the industry average.
"Chindata is the first in the industry to propose a 100% renewable energy target and a carbon neutral roadmap, focusing on green site selection, green construction, green operation, and a zero-carbon strategy," said Wu Huapeng, CEO of Chindata. "We will strive to adhere to the green and sustainable targets we have set for ourselves and contribute to the national strategy of carbon neutrality to realize the net emission goals set out in the Paris Agreement and support a better future."
The 100% renewable target was first set by Chindata in early 2019 and Chindata became the first Chinese tech company to make the pledge. Since then, Chindata refined the roadmap in 2020 with the aim of ensuring by 2030, and 100% of its new hyperscale data centers in China would be powered by renewables. In 2021, the Group set a new target to expand the 100% renewable energy-powered data centers to the rest of the world by 2040, including data centers in emerging markets such as Malaysia, India, and Thailand.
From a technical standpoint, Chindata has invested immense resources in developing green and efficient solutions across the entire life cycle of a data center, throughout site selection, construction, and operations. The Group has also produced a number of leading carbon-friendly innovations, including the modularization of key buildings and components, as evidenced by the MY06 project in Johor, Malaysia, in which manufacturing and construction was completed off-site and transported for installation. This method not only lessens the impact on the surrounding environment due to minimal construction, but also greatly reduces the length of time of construction, providing further benefits to the Group. By the end of 2021, Chindata was in possession of and had applied for a total of 280 patents, the number of which has been steadily increasing over the past three years and places the Group in a leading position in the industry.
As outlined in the ESG Report and evidenced by the Group's commitment to carbon-neutral development, Chindata attaches great importance to sustainability and ESG. Recognizing values of stability and compliance, the Group has established a "five-in-one governance system"of corporate governance, operations, internal controls, effective risk management, business ethics, and supply chain management, forming a solid foundation for long-term and ethical development.
