No fewer than 12 different policies currently affect or will soon affect European data center operators, a new study conducted by The Green Grid has found.

“The Green Grid Energy Policy Research For Data Centres,” a report published yesterday by the IT industry consortium, looked at how legislation may be pushing the industry toward greater energy efficiency, and offers organizations everything they need to know about current and forthcoming policies.

“The overall finding from the report is that legislation is continuously tightening, and therefore it is advisable to innovate now and seek out opportunities to manage future implications for all data centers across the region,” said Vic Smith, author of the report and a Dell representative to the Green Grid.
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The research found three pieces of legislation that are most likely to impact data centers:

• The Revisions to Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which will require new buildings to be zero energy by the end of 2018;
• the forthcoming U.K. Carbon Reduction Commitment, which establishes a new carbon trading market as of April 2010 and sets penalties for non-compliance with reduction efforts; and
• Increasing building codes and planning policies.

Below is a full chart, provided by the Green Grid, showing the policies explored in the report. In addition to examining the ways that European legislative bodies are affecting data center operations, the guide gives recommendations for how IT managers can stay in compliance and prepare for future policy challenges.

Among the recommendations are encouraging all companies operating or owning data centers to prepare for the U.K. Carbon Reduction Commitment; a study conducted earlier this year by EcoSecurities and ClimateBiz.com found that 20 percent of companies are not sure if they will be required to gather data to comply with this regulation, even though the data-collection period is already well underway.

Data center operators should also begin proactively measuring and reporting their energy consumption, while also making use of tax credits and capital allowances for improving the energy efficiency of hardware and facilities.

The full report, “The Green Grid Energy Policy Research For Data Centres,” authored by Victor Smith and researched by CB Richard Ellis, is available for download from GreenerComputing.com. More details are online at TheGreenGrid.org.