This article is part of "Build IT: Connectivity," a series about tech powering better business.

Digital Realty, a data center operator, is scaling up its infrastructure to keep up with AI's growth. But the tricky part is to do so in an environmentally friendly way.

The International Energy Agency found that in 2024, data centers accounted for 1.5% of global electricity use. By 2030, that number could nearly double, reaching levels just above Japan's current annual energy consumption.

In addition, AI infrastructure is cooled with enormous amounts of water. A report from the University of Tulsa found that a single facility can use up to 5 million gallons per day, enough to supply thousands of homes. With governments and companies pouring billions into AI infrastructure, those resource demands are only expected to grow.

Through close collaboration between its sustainability, engineering, and design teams, Digital Realty, which operates more than 300 data centers worldwide, is working to reduce carbon emissions. That means sourcing more renewable energy, upgrading cooling systems, and rethinking where — and how — new sites are built from the ground up.

To understand how Digital Realty is preparing for that future, Business Insider spoke with Aaron Binkley, vice president of sustainability, and Shea McKeon, global head of design and engineering, about the company's sustainability strategy.

In a roundtable conversation, Binkley and McKeon shared how their teams are working together to cut emissions, balance business demands with sustainability goals, and stay ahead of AI trends in the data center world.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Aaron Binkley: My role is global. I oversee sustainability efforts across the company, including work around renewables, decarbonization, development and construction, operations of in-service data centers, and collaboration on green finance, clean energy, energy performance, water, and more. A big part of my job is acting as a convener, bringing people together to ensure we're working collaboratively and surfacing the best ideas.

Shea McKeon: I sit in the design, engineering, and construction department, which oversees all new developments and major renovation projects around the world. We're responsible for integrating sustainability into our new builds and working with operations and energy management to bring existing facilities up to the latest standards.

Binkley: We think about how we build, power, and operate sustainable data centers. That starts with understanding emissions across the data center lifecycle. Design and construction impact embodied carbon, or the total amount of emissions associated with the data center lifecycle, from metal extraction to construction, all the way to equipment disposal. Operationally, it's all about electricity use. So we work closely with our energy procurement and strategy teams to decarbonize our electricity supply.

For Scope 1 emissions, referring to direct emissions from sources owned by our company, we're switching from burning mainly diesel in backup generators to renewable fuels like hydrotreated vegetable oil, a diesel-like fuel which we've deployed across 17% of our operating portfolio. But 98% of our Scope 1 and 2 emissions, which include the indirect emissions from purchased energy, come from electricity, so that's the big nut we need to crack. We prioritize opportunities based on where we can make the biggest impact, designing efficient facilities and powering them with renewables.

McKeon: I'd say on the Scope 3 emissions side, which are indirect emissions from the data center supply chain, that's where my team can really have an impact. We're constantly working with our design and construction partners to make sure we're specifying the right materials to help bring those emissions down. It's always at the forefront of our designs.

We also partner with Aaron's team during our annual business reviews with key suppliers. We just wrapped those up recently, and Scope 3 emissions were one of the topics we discussed — how suppliers are performing and what we can do to improve. It's a never-ending, iterative process, but collaboration is key to making progress.

Binkley: We've seen AI coming. It's front of mind now, and a significant portion of our bookings are AI-related. Even as our portfolio grows, we haven't pulled back on any sustainability commitments. We've made strong progress on sourcing renewables and decarbonization. We plan for that, and as AI pushes greater demand, we adjust our plans: rethink sourcing, get more integrated with acquisitions, and get involved earlier in planning and design. We're even part of early utility conversations when acquiring land, asking for clean energy solutions before we've started moving dirt.

We're also using AI internally to improve energy and water efficiency. We developed an in-house program called Apollo AI to optimize building management systems across our portfolio. The platform helps our facility engineers find hidden anomalies like clogged filters and leaky valves and suggests improvements that can help drive energy savings. We also have AI tools focused on water systems, helping us fine-tune cooling performance and water chemistry to reduce waste. We really try to squeeze every last drop of productivity out of the energy and water we consume.

McKeon: We're planning for 100% of our future buildings to have the capability to deploy liquid cooling directly to the chip, where coolant is circulated through metal plates attached to graphics processing units to remove heat. For those that don't, our engineering team is building roadmaps so we're ready if customers want to use energy-intensive technologies like generative AI that require high levels of compute power. Our modular design approach helps us learn and adapt quickly. And with liquid cooling, you don't need as much square footage per megawatt anymore. That's going to change how buildings are designed moving forward.

Binkley: Our sustainability standards are part of our building codes, but the maximum amount of emissions that can be reduced in our facilities still varies based on customer usage. Some customers move into the data centers fully and operate at high intensity; others ramp up slowly. Modularity helps us handle those variations. The speed of growth is also a challenge — we need to stay ahead of customer demand, line up renewables, and anticipate equipment needs that take a long time to procure. We're building physical infrastructure, which takes years. You can't just flip a switch.

McKeon: We're a multi-tenant facility. We lease out space to our customers, so while we control the infrastructure, the customer ultimately controls how they operate within that space. We can design proactively with energy efficiency in mind, and we encourage best practices like airflow containment and optimal temperature settings. But at the end of the day, we don't dictate how customers use their equipment.

That creates a bit of a disconnect. Our engineering team can build in sustainability features, but our operations team has to be reactive depending on how each tenant deploys. Some customers come in and run at high utilization, which is great from an efficiency standpoint. Others move in slowly or use a mix of equipment that can affect how well the facility runs. So there's a line between what we can control and what we can influence.

Luckily, our operations team is very sophisticated. They use automation, data, and AI to adapt in real time, dialing in temperature and managing airflow, all to run as efficiently as possible.

Binkley: We're not pulling back on our commitments. We'll stay the course, and perhaps even get more aggressive. Clean energy is harder to source now, but still available. We've been able to secure renewables that offer real value and reduce costs. We're also going deeper into Scope 3 with our supplier engagement program, working with vendors to reduce the carbon footprint of the materials and products we buy.

McKeon: I'd echo that. Sustainability is embedded in our design process. It's not just a benchmark — it's part of our culture. Our local teams are empowered to innovate project by project, and our global teams constantly share best practices. What works in France might be relevant in Chicago. It's a contagious, exciting environment to be in.