Digital Realty Provides Update On Sustainability Initiatives

SAN FRANCISCO, May 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Realty Trust, Inc. DLR, the leading global provider of data center and colocation solutions, today announced updates to its sustainability initiatives to encourage greener practices in the data center industry. To accompany the sustainability updates, Digital Realty also released a new white paper, "Powering the Green Data Center," to continue its commitment to providing diverse options for its clients to source clean energy.

"As the leading global provider of data center solutions, we're committed to ongoing efforts that enhance the growth of our clients' businesses while also minimizing the environmental impact of our increasingly digital world," said A. William Stein, Digital Realty's Chief Executive Officer. "The world is increasingly leveraging the economic and social value of being connected digitally, and data centers are the home of the physical infrastructure that underpins the digital world. Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for our clients to select more sustainable data center solutions."

The white paper, which the company published today, is a planning guide authored by Digital Realty Director of Sustainability Aaron Binkley that identifies the considerations for moving to a clean energy model in the data center, describes the growing importance of sustainability in the data center, provides a definition of "clean" energy, and outlines options for sourcing clean energy.

Update on Sustainability Initiatives

• Energy Efficiency - Digital Realty's expert staff is dedicated to improving energy efficiency in its data centers. This includes screening assets for low- and no-cost upgrades, as well as capital projects where highly energy-efficient products are given preference during replacement and upgrade. This also results in lower operating costs for its clients. Digital Realty's participation in the Better Buildings Challenge exemplifies its commitment. The Better Buildings Challenge is a Department of Energy-led initiative to improve energy efficiency in data centers by 20 percent by 2020. For more details on this exciting program, visit Digital Realty's blog post, Joining the White House's Better Buildings Challenge.
  
  Digital Realty is also an active contributor to ASHRAE's efforts to advance data center energy efficiency and sustainability. Paul Finch, Digital Realty's Senior Technical Director, holds one of 16 voting positions with ASHRAE on the Technical Committee for Mission Critical Facilities, Data Centers, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment. This committee takes a global leadership role in developing new publications and standards in energy efficiency and sustainability for the data center industry.
  
  
• Cleaner Energy – In January 2015, Digital Realty launched the Clean Start^SM program to support its clients' goals to power their data centers with clean, renewable energy. This was the first industry initiative of its kind offering clean energy options for new leases at no incremental cost. Other data center companies have followed suit, and we're glad they did.
  
  For calendar year 2014, Digital Realty's portfolio average fuel mix contained 22% renewables; the company is working with power suppliers and clients to meet its long term goal of powering its data centers with 100% renewable energy. In addition, Digital Realty recently became a signatory to the Corporate Renewable Energy Buyers' Principles, developed jointly by the World Wildlife Fund and the World Resources Institute. The principles seek to spur progress on resolving the challenges corporations face when buying renewable energy.
  
  
• Greener Client Solutions – Digital Realty has a successful track record in sustainability dating back through our history as a company, with more than 40 sustainable "green" building certifications, including the completion of the world's first LEED gold-certified data center in Chicago in 2007. These data centers are built to best-in-class sustainability standards for energy performance and resource efficiency. This global success story includes projects in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore and Australia.
  
  A few recent examples of recognition received for the company's sustainable data center solutions include:
  
  1. North America: Digital Realty's data center in Austin, Texas – a custom build for ARM Holdings – won a DatacenterDynamics Green Data Center award.
  
  2. EMEA: The London-area data center recently launched for our client Rackspace is extremely energy-efficient due primarily to the design of its cooling system, which uses outside air for heat transfer. Since it is an indirect adiabatic solution, it doesn't actually pull any of the outside air through the equipment on the IT floor.
  
  3. APAC: Digital Realty's Singapore facility recently received a Green Mark Platinum certification by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and Infocomm Development Authority (IDA). This is the first time a colocation data center in Singapore has achieved the Green Mark Platinum level under the category of "Existing Data Center."

"Digital Realty continues to expand its solutions for clients seeking clean energy, energy efficiency, and sustainability in the data center industry," said Aaron Binkley, Digital Realty's Director of Sustainability. "For example, in an article published in 2008, InfoWorld recognized Digital Realty's CTO and head of Portfolio Operations Jim Smith in its prestigious 'CTO 25' list as 'something of an icon in the tech world as he was among the first – if not the first – in the industry to speak openly about the inner workings of an efficient data center at free how-to seminars and green computing forums.' We look forward to accelerating our industry leadership in promoting sustainability in the data center."   

About Digital Realty

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. supports the data center and colocation strategies of more than 600 firms across its secure, network-rich portfolio of data centers located throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Digital Realty's clients include domestic and international companies of all sizes, ranging from financial services, cloud and information technology services, to manufacturing, energy, gaming, life sciences and consumer products. For more information about data center solutions from Digital Realty, visit www.digitalrealty.com. Follow us on Twitter at @digitalrealty and on our blog at https://blog.digitalrealty.com/.

Safe Harbor Statement 

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially, including statements related to Digital Realty's sustainability initiatives. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the following: the impact of current global economic, credit and market conditions; current local economic conditions in our geographic markets; decreases in information technology spending, including as a result of economic slowdowns or recession; adverse economic or real estate developments in our industry or the industry sectors that we sell to (including risks relating to decreasing real estate valuations and impairment charges); our dependence upon significant tenants; bankruptcy or insolvency of a major tenant or a significant number of smaller tenants; defaults on or non-renewal of leases by tenants; our failure to obtain necessary debt and equity financing; risks associated with using debt to fund our business activities, including re-financing and interest rate risks, our failure to repay debt when due, adverse changes in our credit ratings or our breach of covenants or other terms contained in our loan facilities and agreements; financial market fluctuations; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; our inability to manage our growth effectively; difficulty acquiring or operating properties in foreign jurisdictions; our failure to successfully integrate and operate acquired or developed properties or businesses; the suitability of our properties and data center infrastructure, delays or disruptions in connectivity, failure of our physical infrastructure or services or availability of power; risks related to joint venture investments, including as a result of our lack of control of such investments; delays or unexpected costs in development of properties; decreased rental rates, increased operating costs or increased vacancy rates; increased competition or available supply of data center space; our inability to successfully develop and lease new properties and development space; difficulties in identifying properties to acquire and completing acquisitions; our inability to acquire off-market properties; our inability to comply with the rules and regulations applicable to reporting companies; our failure to maintain our status as a REIT; possible adverse changes to tax laws; restrictions on our ability to engage in certain business activities; environmental uncertainties and risks related to natural disasters; losses in excess of our insurance coverage; changes in foreign laws and regulations, including those related to taxation and real estate ownership and operation; and changes in local, state and federal regulatory requirements, including changes in real estate and zoning laws and increases in real property tax rates. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports and other filings by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, for the year ended December 31, 2014.  The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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SOURCE Digital Realty Trust, Inc.