While data centre energy usage continues to rise – now accounting for more than 1.1% of global energy consumption – average carbon emissions per unit of energy consumed are trending downwards, new data from Structure Research shows.

The independent research firm found that the growing adoption of renewable and carbon-free energy sources is contributing to this downward trend of carbon emissions.

Total energy usage increased from 178.5 TWh in 2019 to 310.6 TWh in 2024, while emissions intensity fell from 366.9 mtCO2e/GWh to 312.7 mtCO2e/GWh over the same period.

“Data centres are foundational to the modern digital economy, and that means they carry a growing environmental responsibility,” said Philbert Shih, managing director of Structure Research.

“What this report shows is that while energy consumption continues to climb, providers are making meaningful progress in efficiency and renewable adoption.

“The industry is clearly moving in the right direction—but transparency and accountability will be critical as sustainability expectations evolve.”

Amid rising energy demands, the research suggests progress when it comes to sustainability. Energy usage by ESG leaders grew 17.9% over the last five years, with renewable energy consumption growing by 27.9%.

Hyperscalers are now using renewable sources for approximately 91% of their total energy needs, the research found, with data centre providers reaching 62%.

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Carbon-free energy, including nuclear, is emerging as a key part of the data centre energy mix as power constraints grow in Tier 1 markets.

Further, the average power usage effectiveness (PUE) of data centre providers declined from 1.44 in 2019 to 1.38 in 2024, while hyperscale PUEs remained at an industry-leading 1.22. This is a marked improvement as the energy entering the data centre gets evermore closer to the amount used to run its servers.

However, data centre water consumption did increase by 9.6% over five years, driven by demand for liquid cooling to support AI workloads and higher rack densities.

Structure Research’s analysis found that ESG reporting across the sector is becoming more common, though significant variation remains in the scope and depth of disclosures. The report emphasizes the importance of transparency in environmental reporting and urges providers to include more granular, region-specific data in future disclosures.