Measurabl > Case Studies > Digital Realty: Placing accurate, quality ESG data at the center of its award-winning sustainability program

Digital Realty: Placing accurate, quality ESG data at the center of its award-winning sustainability program

Customer Company Size

Large Corporate

Region

America
Europe
Asia

Country

United States

Product

Measurabl

Tech Stack

Data Analysis
Data Collection
Data Visualization

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Environmental Impact Reduction
Digital Expertise
Brand Awareness

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Data-as-a-Service
Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics

Applicable Industries

Telecommunications

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

Use Cases

Energy Management System
Infrastructure Inspection
Remote Asset Management

Services

Data Science Services
System Integration

About The Customer

Digital Realty supports the data center, colocation and interconnection strategies of customers across the world. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with a rapidly growing presence throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, Digital Realty focuses on sustainable design of its real assets to minimize environmental impact. The company has committed to continually optimizing the use of energy and natural resources to deliver improved performance for its customers. Digital Realty is the first data center provider to be recognized with the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award and owns the most ENERGY STAR certified data centers globally.

The Challenge

Digital Realty began in 2014 to take a more standardized and consistent approach to ESG (environmental, social, governance). While it continued to make concerted efforts in areas like energy efficiency and green building certifications, Digital Realty identified several gaps in its ESG data that would need to be filled before the company could truly scale its sustainability efforts. Before Measurabl, Digital Realty did much of its environmental data collection and analysis manually in spreadsheets. The team needed a more sophisticated way to capture ESG data from disparate sources as well as assess and improve its data coverage and quality. Digital Realty was also looking to begin reporting to benchmarks like GRESB and CDP, so its sustainability team needed a system that could store and format the data for disclosure.

The Solution

When Digital Realty adopted Measurabl in 2016, it was primarily looking to streamline its ESG reporting and maintain ownership of its data without having to do it all manually. In addition to helping Digital Realty successfully report to GRESB, CDP, and other benchmarks, Measurabl’s platform has also given the team a single place to reliably track projects, certifications, and KPIs alongside its ESG performance data. Measurabl’s search functionality has made it easy for the team to cross-check information about the energy performance, improvement projects underway, and other material data on its individual assets. Viewing all of its available utility data in one central platform has also given Digital Realty the ability to understand its current data coverage so it can work continuously to fill the gaps, especially as stakeholder demands evolve.

Operational Impact

Measurabl has helped Digital Realty improve its data coverage and quality and has streamlined its ESG reporting.
It has also assisted the team in building a strong, data-driven narrative behind its substantial ESG efforts and achievements.
More than 30 of Digital Realty’s US properties have earned ENERGY STAR certification.
The company also received a 2020 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award and was honored for the fourth consecutive year with Nareit’s Leader in Light Award for Data Centers.

Quantitative Benefit

Digital Realty has become the largest REIT issuer of green bonds, with a total of €4.6 billion issued since 2015.
The company issued €2.1 billion in green bonds in 2020 and issued another €1 billion in January 2021.
By 2030, the company commits to reduce scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 68% per square foot from a 2018 base year.
It will also reduce scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services as well as fuel- and energy-related activities 24% per square foot.