The company’s environmental, social and governance report highlights worldwide strategy to reduce carbon emissions across all scopes, encourage diversity and inclusion and achieve ‘Vision Zero’ as part of its environmental health and safety programme.
Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data centre campuses, has released its second annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report showcasing the company’s dedication to meeting its high standards for environmental stewardship, social responsibility and ethical governance. Themed ‘A Global Vision. Locally Adapted.’, the report details Vantage’s progress and achievements towards its goals across the company’s 29 global data centre campuses amid a period of rapid growth.
“In 2022, Vantage continued to build on its unprecedented global growth, all while remaining committed to our sustainability, inclusivity and safety goals,” said Chris Yetman, Chief Operating Officer at Vantage Data Centers. “We have a singular global vision for responsibly developing our data centre campuses around the globe, a vision that is flexible to adapt to the local communities in which we operate. We’re proud of the progress that we’ve achieved to date and look forward to sharing future results with our customers, investors, employees and all stakeholders.”
In 2021, Vantage used a third party to conduct a materiality assessment that surveyed customers, investors, employees, utility providers, community representatives and local governments about their top ESG priorities. The results of this assessment provided Vantage with the foundation that shaped the goals outlined in the ESG report.
Highlights of Vantage’s 2022 ESG report include:
Environmental stewardship
- A holistic approach to sustainability: Tackling global environmental and resource challenges while maintaining growth is a complex task. Last year, Vantage broadened its sustainability programme to focus on five strategic areas: greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy, water, waste and community.
- Net zero operational carbon emissions by 2030: Vantage is committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2030. In 2022, the company completed its first Scope 3 emissions screening, developed a roadmap with proposed interim reduction targets and continued to refine its data collection methodology. Vantage joined more than 375 companies in signing The Climate Pledge, another strategic step in its ongoing commitment to reduce its environmental impact.
- Leveraging cleaner diesel fuel: In 2022, Vantage made renewable diesel fuel a reality, moving from an exploratory assessment period to implementing Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) at its Cardiff campus. Vantage’s use of HVO significantly reduces its greenhouse gas emissions, delivering measurable progress towards lessening its carbon footprint. The company is currently working to expand the use of this biofuel more broadly based on availability and costs per market.
Social responsibility
- Diverse employee affinity groups: Vantage welcomed more than 385 new team members in 2022. The company strives to make employees feel valued and heard across the globe, evidenced by its growing list of affinity groups. In 2022, Vantage added the Black Employee Network, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Network, the Muslim Employee Association and the Working Parents and Caregivers Network, alongside its existing Women’s Leadership Forum, to offer communities where employees who share a common identity or interest can connect and find support.
- Fostering the next generation of leaders: Vantage introduced a new Mentor Program with support from its Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Council to enable senior leaders to mentor junior team members. In addition, the voluntary JEDI Council grew by 85%, serving as a testament to the importance of DE&I initiatives.
- Giving back: Vantage is dedicated to supporting the communities in which it operates. Throughout the year, Vantage and its employees engaged with its local communities through service events, donating financial support to earthquake relief for Syria and Turkey and partnering with AFCOM to offer an intern programme.
Ethical governance
- Proactive governance and risk protections: To gain a deeper understanding of the risks associated with vendors, Vantage launched a third-party risk management (TPRM) programme. Coupled with Vantage’s Executive Risk Council (ERC), which meets quarterly to identify potential risks and opportunities across five key functions critical to its strategic business goals, Vantage is making risk assessment and management a global priority.
- Global public policy: With differing laws, regulations and policies impacting energy, sustainability, land ownership, zoning, design aesthetics and taxes, public policy is critical to ensure optimal business outcomes. Last year, Vantage established a new public policy team and company-wide steering committee to advance the company’s development goals and lead community engagements.
- Prioritising safety: With nearly four times as many construction hours logged in 2022 compared to 2021, Vantage lowered its Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) from .31 to .28. The company also doubled down on its commitment to safety, launching its Vision Zero programme. The ‘zero’ in Vision Zero is the quest for ultimate safety on the job: zero incidents.
