QTS Publishes Annual Sustainability Report
Overland Park, Kan. (July 25, 2023) – QTS Data Centers, a leading provider of enterprise, hyperscale and government data center solutions, today announced it has published its 2022 Sustainability Report, available online here, highlighting the Company’s commitment to its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) program.
2022 was a transformative year of growth for QTS. During the year, the company signed the highest level of new megawatt leasing in its history and commissioned more power for customers than the prior three years combined. In alignment with its carbon reduction commitment to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Climate Challenge, QTS remains focused on carbon-free energy procurement. The aim is to source as much of its energy needs as possible from renewable power, while exploring alternative fuel sources and methods of power generation and actively partnering with our customers and partners on their respective ESG initiatives.
QTS has implemented innovative solutions, such as utilizing heat output from its data centers to supply district heating to nearby communities, thereby enhancing its power usage efficiency. Through QTS’ standardized Freedom data center design, it has also eliminated the
use of water in the operation of its data centers, thereby preserving a critical resource for local communities.
“As QTS’ footprint expands, we remain committed to the stewardship of our employees, customers, partners and local communities,” said Chad Williams, CEO of QTS. “Through innovation and a commitment to serve a purpose higher than self, we look forward to maintaining our industry leadership in customer service, employee engagement and environmental sustainability.”
ESG Goals Summary
QTS’ Sustainability report documents the Company’s vision of enhancing the care and improvement of life and minimizing its carbon footprint through technology, manpower and advanced construction and procurement initiatives. Based on its progress and success in 2022, the Company has updated its environmental goals as follows:
- Procure 100% of its power from carbon-free energy sources – QTS aims to source 100% of electrical power from sources with no direct greenhouse gas emissions, with the intention to source the maximum amount of renewable power possible subject to cost and supply constraints.
- Portfolio wide annual WUE reduction of 5% - QTS features a minimal water-cooling design that continues to generate year-over-year efficiency gains in its Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) metric. WUE is the most relevant metric for measuring water use and conservation in the data center industry.
- Voluntary Reporting - GRESB, CDP, EcoVadis, RE100 and the EPA Green Power Partnership
- Design 100% of buildings to Green Building Standards, pursue ENERGY STAR certification for all eligible properties – QTS is shifting to meet the needs of its growing footprint and continues to design to green building standards, including ENERGY STAR and LEED.
- Install EV charging stations at 75% of our facilities by 2025 - As of the end of 2021, QTS accomplished this goal, but with a growing company footprint, it chose to add electric vehicle charging stations to all of its new sites in order to stay on track with this goal.
- Recycle 90% of our Operational Waste by 2025 - As of the end of 2022, QTS has recycled over 1.7 billion pounds of material and recycled 78% of its operational waste. Sources of waste included in operational waste are trash and recycling from on-site receptacles, cardboard, paper, and scrap materials from development activities
In 2022, the company recorded its highest level of corporate donations at nearly $2M and a 130% increase in volunteer hours in support of more than 170 charitable organizations. Additionally, QTS is deeply committed to supporting the U.S. military, law enforcement and first responders and is proud to report that more than 35% of its current operations staff have served the country.
“For the past 20 years since our inception, QTS has led by example in the active support of our local communities. We are proud of the impact we made in 2022 including record levels of corporate donations and volunteerism and are committed to continue to challenge ourselves to expand our impact even further in 2023 and beyond,” Williams said.
Success-Based Giving Program
- QTS’ Grow with QTS program supports tree-planting in strategic locations to encourage the improvement of rural, suburban and urban ecosystems. Through this program, QTS has committed to donating more than 20,000 trees each year for planting across the United States to help with fire restoration, restore stripped mineland and restore forests and animal habitats. Since the program’s inception in 2019, the company has donated nearly 125,000 trees, including approximately 50,000 trees in 2022.
- QTS’ HumanKIND program delivers clean water to communities in need and has provided access to clean water to over 11,000 people globally per year. This equates to providing over 20 million gallons of clean water to over 25,000 people in developing countries since its inception. The company has also donated 11 water points since 2020.
- QTS has partnered with the U.S. Dream Academy to sponsor children of incarcerated parents in after-school programs that aim to break the cycle of intergenerational incarceration. Throughout this partnership, QTS has sponsored a total of 42 children giving them access to mentorship programs.
About QTS Data Centers
QTS Realty Trust, LLC is a leading provider of data center solutions across a diverse footprint spanning more than 9 million square feet of owned mega scale data center space within North America and Europe. Through its software-defined technology platform, QTS is able to deliver secure, compliant infrastructure solutions, robust connectivity and premium customer service to leading hyperscale technology companies, enterprises, and government entities. QTS is a Blackstone portfolio company. Visit QTS at www.qtsdatacenters.com, call toll-free 877.QTS.DATA or follow on Twitter @DataCenters_QTS.
