As the world races toward an AI-driven and cloud-first future, one powerful question is beginning to surface: If data is the new oil, what does that make data centres? A recent article in The Hindu draws attention to an uncomfortable reality. India, with its rapidly expanding digital infrastructure, is becoming a high-risk candidate for “data dumping”. What was once perceived as clean, intangible digital growth is now revealing itself as a resource intensive industry with significant environmental consequences.

Data centres are no longer just the invisible backbone of the digital economy. They are emerging as the refineries of the data age that process, store, and power the world’s information at enormous scale. And like traditional refineries, they place heavy demands on energy, water, land, and climate systems.

India’s Rise as a Global Data Hub

India’s data centre sector is witnessing exponential growth. Accelerated by cloud computing, artificial intelligence, e-commerce, fintech, and government digitisation initiatives, global technology firms are investing heavily in large-scale facilities across major urban and industrial corridors.

Factors that make India an attractive destination:

• Lower operational and land costs compared to Western markets
• A vast and growing digital user base
• Strong policy push toward becoming a digital economy
• Increasing demand for domestic data storage and localisation

While this expansion promises economic growth and technological leadership, it also introduces a critical risk, that India may host massive digital infrastructure without fully accounting for its long-term environmental and social costs.

The Hidden Environmental Cost of Data Centres

Despite their digital nature, data centres are among the most resource-intensive facilities in modern industry.

1. Energy Intensity

Data centres operate 24/7 and require uninterrupted power to maintain servers, cooling systems, and security infrastructure. This continuous demand places significant pressure on electricity grids. In regions still dependent on fossil fuels, this translates directly into higher greenhouse gas emissions and increased climate impact.

2. Water Consumption

Cooling systems in data centres consume enormous quantities of water. In water-stressed regions, this creates competition between industrial use and local community needs. As India already faces severe water scarcity in several states, unchecked expansion of water-intensive facilities raises serious sustainability concerns.

3. Carbon Footprint

From construction materials and backup generators to energy use and supply chains, data centres contribute across Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Without systematic carbon accounting and reduction strategies, their footprint can rival that of traditional heavy industries.

How ARRO by CeroED creates value in Building Green Data Centres!

Managing the environmental complexity of modern data centres requires real-time intelligence and integrated ESG management systems. This is where AI-driven platform ARRO by CeroED becomes essential.  AI transforms sustainability smarter, easier, and more impactful for business growth. Instead of merely reporting emissions, organisations can actively reduce them by improving both environmental performance and operational efficiency.

ARRO enables data centre operators to:

• Measure carbon emissions across operations and supply chains
• Track energy and water consumption in real time
• AI-driven goals and industry specific sustainability initiatives
• Identify inefficiencies and optimise resource use
• Automate ESG compliance and sustainability reporting

With our intelligent ESG platform ARRO, organisations have the tools to ensure that the data powering tomorrow’s world is hosted sustainably today. The digital revolution must not come at the cost of environmental degradation. It must become a catalyst for sustainable innovation.

Want to know how ARRO operates?

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