Embodied Carbon

Embodied Carbon is a Workstream under the OCP Sustainability Project, which works to enable the data center industry’s progress toward net-carbon-zero goals. Embodied carbon is the CO2e emitted by the manufacture of the physical entities within a data center; it cannot be directly measured and is instead modeled. Details about the workstream’s mission, scope, deliverables, and ways to get involved will be added in the near future.

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Steering Committee Representative

Shruti Sethi

Project Leads

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About This Workstream

The OCP Sustainability Project works to enable the data center industry’s progress toward net-carbon-zero goals by addressing the unique challenges and opportunities within the Open Compute Project ecosystem. It led the introduction of Sustainability as OCP’s fifth tenet and offers an open framework and resources for vendors, suppliers, and end users to deploy industry best practices that promote reusability and circularity.

Embodied carbon is the CO2e emitted by the manufacture of the physical entities within a data center. It cannot be directly measured and is instead modeled, and the Sustainability Project’s workstreams address how to obtain, interpret, and disclose embodied-carbon data across the value chain.

Scope

The scope of this workstream will be added in the near future.

The iMasons Climate Accord (iCA) and the Open Compute Project (OCP) have started an exciting journey in our joint effort to address the crucial issue of embodied carbon and its impact on data center sustainability. Both the iCA and OCP communities welcome your participation in a new Carbon Disclosure/Label Standardization Workstream. – Scope 3 emissions, specifically embodied carbon in materials and equipment, pose a significant challenge to data center operators striving to achieve net-zero and carbon neutrality goals. As we recognize the urgency to reduce the carbon footprint of data centers, it is essential to engage our vast supply chain in measuring, reporting, and drawing down embodied carbon from data center inputs. – The primary objective of our workstream is to develop a standardized framework for disclosing and managing embodied carbon in data center construction and operation. By establishing a clear and consistent approach, iCA and OCP aim to drive industry-wide collaboration and innovation, enabling data center operators to make informed decisions and take effective actions to reduce their environmental impact.

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Resources

Embodied Carbon calendar