Iron Mountain, a global leader in innovative storage, data center infrastructure, asset lifecycle management and information management services, announced the BREEAM design certification of its Phoenix, AZ (AZP-2) data center — the first data center in North America to receive this top tier certification for building to a standard considered the highest for sustainable construction.

Iron Mountain is taking the lead on demonstrating the steps facility owners can take to ensure that their data centers are both efficient and resilient. Design for the AZP-2 facility has been certified under BREEAM’s New Construction standard, a globally recognized green building certification for new developments, and achieved BREEAM Excellent.

“By intentionally designing and constructing data centers to optimize performance, we help to ensure a sustainable, interconnected future,” said Chris Pennington, Director of Energy & Sustainability for Iron Mountain. “BREEAM certification demonstrates a comprehensive approach to achieve results — from site selection and materials to energy use and the well-being of future occupants — and we look forward to continued partnerships with sustainability experts like BREEAM and Longevity Partners to demonstrate leadership for ESG performance and green buildings in the data center industry.”

Throughout the design stage for the project, Iron Mountain implemented notable measures to significantly improve the performance of AZP-2, including producing detailed energy use simulations and models, refining the building material selection, and reducing water consumption by more than 50% to reduce the costs and carbon emissions of future tenants. Today, Iron Mountain has long term renewable energy contracts which already offset more than 100% of our data center energy requirements and we have committed to achieve 100% renewable energy use 100% of the time by 2040. Moreover, today’s announcement places Iron Mountain firmly on the path announced last year that all new construction of multi-tenant data centers will be BREEAM certified by 2025.

“The construction pipeline for data centers in the U.S. has continued to grow in recent years with no signs of slowing down any time soon, so it’s great to see an industry leader like Iron Mountain take charge in implementing a higher sustainability standard throughout its design and development processes,” said Breana Wheeler, Director of U.S. Operations at BRE. “As the national portfolio of data centers continues to expand, we look forward to adding value to owners and operators by providing a holistic, transparent assessment method that produces more valuable assets.”

See related article: Mountain Technology Center Becomes First Development in U.S. to Achieve BREEAM International New Construction Certification

The design certification of AZP-2 was supported by the project’s third-party assessor team at the leading multi-disciplinary energy and sustainability consultancy, Longevity Partners. “At Longevity, we pride ourselves on supporting real estate professionals navigate the most difficult ESG scenarios within the built world, and we’re proud to have supported Iron Mountain’s immense success in certifying this complex data center asset,” said Etienne Cadestin, CEO of Longevity Partners. “We look forward to continuing to expand our relationship and guide the Iron Mountain team as they pursue additional certifications across their portfolio.”

Source: Iron Mountain