Green Mark for Data Centres 2024 is out

The BCA-IMDA Green Mark for Data Centres has been updated with tighter criteria. Come March 2025, it will replace the existing version.

I attended a briefing of the new Green Mark for Data Centres (GMDC) held at BCA's Braddell Campus on Friday, organised by SGTech.

In the packed auditorium were officials from BCA and IMDA, as well as executives and professionals from the data centre industry.

I’ll put together a detailed write-up next week. For now, here’s an initial roundup:

Green Mark for Data Centres

What is the Green Mark for Data Centres (GMDC)?

It was created to recognise data centre operators that implement best practices and demonstrate superior environmental performance.

The standard has been updated over the years:

• GMDC 2011 (“Version 1”).
• GMDC 2019.
• GMDC 2024 (“Beta”).

GMDC is voluntary though I understand some customers make it a requirement. There are currently 54 GMDC certified data centres.

Key changes in GMDC 2024

GMDC 2024 has been overhauled to emphasis new areas such as resilience and adopt a more streamlined approach to certification.

However, the key focus continues to be energy efficiency. This is where things get tougher.

GMDC 2024 imposes tighter requirements on PUE measurements: Power consumption must now be captured after the PDU, instead of after the UPS (previously).

• It is now a prerequisite to measure PUE at 25% IT load, more closely matching real-world conditions.
• Another new requirement to display energy metering and show real-time PUE.

I really liked these changes, as some data centres might calculate some implausible PUE on launch day and market it forever.

Now, customers can just ask for the “current” PUE.

Other notable changes

As alluded to by the Green Data Centre Roadmap released in May, Water Usage Efficiency (WUE) is now taken into consideration.

Instead of treating existing data centres differently from new data centres, both will now be now appraised under a single GMDC 2024 criteria.

Recertification is also “simplified”. This will be a simple checklist under GMDC 2024.

As of yesterday, data centres operators looking to certify under GMDC can choose between the 2019 standard or the newer GMDC 2024 standard. After 1st March, GMDC 2024 will be in force.

I’ll share more in the week ahead. Look forward to hearing your thoughts.