Creating a pathway for sustainable data centres in Singapore 

KEN HAIG

THE twin transitions of digitalisation and decarbonisation are not mutually exclusive, but in fact can be mutually beneficial. Singapore joins a growing list of countries seeking to turn these parallel challenges into mutual opportunities by harnessing the demand for digitalisation to meet pressing climate commitments. According to the Green Data: The sustainable data centre opportunity for Singapore report by AlphaBeta, data centres today create and support over S$2 billion in Singapore’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) and enable up to 1.6 million indirect jobs that are dependent on cloud technology. However, the two-year data centre moratorium in Singapore, which is in the process of being lifted and replaced with a new framework, indicates concerns around how to ensure that the data centre industry’s growth is aligned with Singapore’s sustainability goals. 

In recognising that cloud data centres are not blockers but enablers in achieving its climate ambitions, the Singapore government has much to gain in continued collaboration with industry. Indeed, cloud technology has a crucial role to play in accelerating both digital transformation and green economic recovery. Other than committing to providing sustainable IT infrastructure, technology companies can also accelerate sustainable transformation by providing the cloud-based tools and services that will help businesses and public sector organisations decarbonise and achieve more sustainable outcomes.