EU Launches Consultation on Data Centre Sustainability Rating Scheme

The European Commission has launched a call for feedback on a new EU-wide rating scheme for data centres, aimed at improving transparency and sustainability in one of the fastest-growing energy-consuming sectors. The initiative forms part of the broader Data Centre Energy Efficiency Package, expected to be adopted in 2026.

The proposed rating scheme will assess data centres based on multiple sustainability indicators, including energy efficiency, water use, renewable energy consumption and waste heat reuse. The goal is to create a harmonised system that enables better comparison of environmental performance across facilities in the EU.

The initiative builds on existing EU rules under the Energy Efficiency Directive, which already require large data centres to report key performance data. By introducing a rating mechanism, the Commission aims to strengthen accountability and incentivise operators to improve environmental performance.

The consultation will gather input from stakeholders, including industry, policymakers and civil society, to refine the framework before formal adoption. The move reflects the EU’s broader effort to ensure that the rapid growth of digital infrastructure aligns with its climate goals, including the ambition to achieve carbon-neutral data centres by 2030.

The proposed EU data-centre sustainability rating scheme extends the EU's approach to product-level environmental rating (energy labels, ecodesign) into a rapidly-growing but historically opaque infrastructure sector. Multi-dimensional assessment - energy efficiency, water use, renewable-energy sourcing, waste-heat reuse - reflects the reality that data-centre sustainability cannot be reduced to any single metric.

The alignment with existing Energy Efficiency Directive reporting requirements creates a coherent regulatory architecture. Rating outcomes will likely influence customer procurement decisions (particularly for hyperscalers with net-zero commitments), financing terms and operational-permit conditions across jurisdictions.

For data-centre operators, hyperscalers, technology providers and financial institutions supporting digital-infrastructure investment, Cognitud's data and digital, climate action and energy transition teams help clients evaluate rating-scheme exposure, structure sustainability-performance improvement programmes aligned with proposed criteria, and prepare disclosures aligned with CSRD, ISSB and jurisdictional data-centre sustainability frameworks that increasingly determine access to premium customer contracts and sustainable-finance.