The collaboration brings together The DCA’s position at the centre of the data centre ecosystem with the Carbon Trust’s global expertise in decarbonisation, enabling a more coordinated and actionable approach to sustainability, energy use, and infrastructure development.
As demand for digital services and AI infrastructure continues to scale, the partnership will focus on aligning growth with credible, measurable sustainability outcomes. This includes supporting operators, investors, and the wider supply chain in navigating increasing regulatory pressure, energy constraints, and carbon reduction targets.
Through this partnership, The DCA and the Carbon Trust will work together to:
- Provide sector-specific guidance on decarbonisation pathways for data centres
- Support improved measurement, reporting and transparency of emissions and energy use
- Enable collaboration across operators, suppliers and policymakers
- Contribute to the development of best practice and standards for sustainable digital infrastructure
The partnership reflects a shared ambition to move beyond high-level commitments and into practical delivery, ensuring that sustainability is embedded within the next phase of data centre and AI infrastructure growth.
Steve Hone, CEO of The DCA – Data Centre Alliance, said:
"Sustainable growth in digital infrastructure is now a strategic requirement, not an aspiration. This partnership brings together the insight, capability and reach needed to help the sector navigate increasing demand while delivering against Net Zero commitments. By working with the Carbon Trust, we can provide our members with clearer pathways, better data, and more coordinated action across the ecosystem."
Bob Burgoyne, Data Centre Lead at the Carbon Trust said:
“AI adoption is both accelerating the build-out of data centre infrastructure and putting the environmental impact of that build-out in the spotlight. This is a pivotal moment for the sector to fulfil its potential as a leader in the transition to Net Zero, through supporting innovation in our energy system and designing decarbonisation into data centre facilities. Our partnership with The DCA will seize on this potential to develop realistic, tangible initiatives which capitalise on the expertise and ambition among its members.”
Notes to editors:
About The DCA – Data Centre Alliance
Founded in 2010, The DCA (UK Data Centre Trade Association) ensures that media, governments, and the public are informed of the vital role Data Centres perform. The DCA supports developments and advances in the sector and those that work within it.
An established, vendor neutral, non-profit making organisation assisting its Members and Partners to connect with a growing audience to share best practice, industry innovation and the latest research.
About the Carbon Trust
The Carbon Trust is a global climate consultancy driven by the mission to accelerate the move to a decarbonised future. Its vision for the ICT sector is for digital infrastructure and energy systems to evolve together for low carbon growth and to accelerate the energy transition.
From power procurement and grid interaction to system wide measurement and circular hardware strategies, its experts know what low carbon data centre growth looks like in practice. Working directly with owners, operators and major customers the Carbon Trust supports data centre projects to scale in ways that reduce overall system emissions rather than shifting them elsewhere in the supply chain.
