Program Explores Sustainability in Data Center Design, Development and Operations
Date Posted: July 29, 2025
Posted In: Discussion, Environment/Sustainability, Ideas,
The Missouri Gateway Green Building Council (MGGBC) and ASHRAE-St. Louis are hosting a presentation on Aug. 12th from 5-7PM exploring the implications of the explosion in need for data centers in terms of sustainability.
The program will be held at the Missouri Historical Society, 5700 Lindell Blvd. The program is eligible for AIA continuing education credit. Admission is free for MGGBC, ASHRAE-St. Louis, I2SL-St. Louis Members, and full-time students. ASHRAE and I2SL members should register with their respective organizations to get member pricing. Admission is $25 for non-members. To register click here.
Presenters are John Weale, principal, Introba; Jeremy Nolen, director of business development – renewables, Farnsworth Group; and Erik Lueders, director of sustainable technology, Mastercard.
With the growth of cloud-based computing and the recent rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), data centers are becoming the key critical infrastructure of our digital world. This exploding growth has propelled an unprecedented surge in data center development as entities race to secure the resources and infrastructure needed to meet current and future demand. While innovations like AI can leverage incredible computing power with amazing potential benefits, they are also incredibly resource-intensive processes, which means that the data centers built to support them have extensive needs for energy, land and water to function optimally.
Grappling with Environmental Impacts
In the race to develop this critical infrastructure, companies are having to grapple with the environmental impacts of its enormous energy and water needs, as they reconcile the need to meet current demands while considering long-term costs, sustainability goals and impacts on local communities. Fortunately, innovations in computing technology, building systems, and renewable energy production for data centers have the potential to make this critical infrastructure more resource-efficient.
This program brings together experts from the field to discuss current practices and emerging trends in strategies for optimizing energy efficiency and reducing energy and water demand in data centers. Participants will learn about tools available to integrate sustainability principles into data center projects to achieve high-performance, energy-efficient, and environmentally responsible outcomes.