Online forum hosting participants which include data centre operators, solution providers, customers, sustainability experts and researchers will identify new ideas to enhance data centres sustainability in Singapore and beyond.
SINGAPORE, 9 April 2020 – ENGIE, SGTech and Singapore Management University (SMU) today announced that they have successfully conducted the inaugural Singapore Data Centres Sustainability e-Challenge. As a leader in data centre sustainability, Facebook sponsored the virtual event to bring together over 70 participants including data centre operators, solution providers (from startups to corporates), customers, sustainability experts and researchers across industries – such as data analytics, IoT, energy efficiency, renewables and more – to come up with ideas that have the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of Singapore’s data centres.
“From a sustainability point of view, there is significant work to be done in improving data centres’ efficiency,” said Quentin Vaquette, Managing Director, ENGIE Factory Asia-Pacific. “We are excited to be able to partner SGTech, SMU and Facebook to enhance this key economic sector in Singapore and speed up the country’s transition to a zero-carbon future at the same time. Following this event, we plan to bring the best ideas proposed to fruition by organising hackathons and nurturing startups keen to commercialise those ideas.”
This first-of-its-kind Challenge focuses on three areas – greener operations and best practices, smarter data centres, and sustainable design and build.
“SGTech members are keen to explore possibilities that exist for sustainability to be baked into data centres, starting from the design stage, through the day-to-day operations, and the eventual decommissioning of the facility,” said Christopher Street, Co-Chair of SGTech’s Data Centre Committee. “We are heartened to be able to organise this e-Challenge to encourage people to put sustainability ideas and available technologies into practice in data centres and do our part to support Singapore’s goal to reduce energy use and carbon emission while providing a sustainable growth path for data centres.”
Professor Venky Shankararaman, Vice Provost (Undergraduate Matters), Singapore Management University (SMU), commented: “Youths will shape the future of our economy and environment. We are delighted to see the ardent participation of our undergraduates in this e-Challenge, and look forward to some of their ideas being turned into meaningful and impactful solutions that will be broadly adopted across the data centre industry. These students are reading an SMU-X course on “Technological innovations enhancing urban sustainability” as part of the University’s Core Curriculum. A distinctive and award-winning pedagogy, SMU-X emphasises experiential learning, where students work in small groups to tackle real-world problems with industry partners – Facebook in this case – and faculty mentors.”
This collaboration lays another milestone for ENGIE in enhancing Singapore’s data centre sector. In June 2018, ENGIE launched its AVRIL Digital Outcome-focused Services, which remotely monitors data centres and provide actionable, data-driven insights to help the facilities become more energy- efficient, sustainable, agile and reliable.
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Our group is a global reference in low-carbon energy and services. In response to the urgency of climate change, our ambition is to become the world leader in the zero carbon transition “as a service” for our customers, in particular global companies and local authorities. We rely on our key activities (renewable energy, gas, services) to offer competitive turnkey solutions. With our 170,000 employees, our customers, partners and stakeholders, we are a community of Imaginative Builders, committed every day to more harmonious progress.
Turnover in 2019: 60.1 billion Euros. The Group is listed on the Paris and Brussels stock exchanges (ENGI) and is represented in the main financial indices (CAC 40, DJ Euro Stoxx 50, Euronext 100, FTSE Eurotop 100, MSCI Europe) and non-financial indices (DJSI World, DJSI Europe and Euronext Vigeo Eiris – World 120, Eurozone 120, Europe 120, France 20, CAC 40 Governance).
SGTech is the premier association for the tech industry in Singapore. Within a rapidly evolving technology landscape, SGTech strives to create an ecosystem that anticipates trends and develops sustainable initiatives to strengthen the community and help the industry grow.
SGTech’s close to 1000 members range from innovative start-ups, vibrant small and medium-sized enterprises to top multinational corporations that leverage technology as a core driver of their business.
A premier university in Asia, the Singapore Management University (SMU) is internationally recognised for its world-class research and distinguished teaching. Established in 2000, SMU’s mission is to generate leading-edge research with global impact and to produce broad-based, creative and entrepreneurial leaders for the knowledge-based economy. SMU’s education is known for its highly interactive, collaborative and project-based approach to learning
Home to over 10,000 students across undergraduate, postgraduate professional and post-graduate research programmes, SMU, is comprised of six schools: School of Accountancy, Lee Kong Chian School of Business, School of Economics, School of Information Systems, School of Law, and School of Social Sciences. SMU offers a wide range of bachelors’, masters’ and PhD degree programmes in the disciplinary areas associated with the six schools, as well as in multidisciplinary combinations of these areas.
SMU emphasises rigorous, high-impact, multi- and interdisciplinary research that addresses Asian issues of global relevance. SMU faculty members collaborate with leading international researchers and universities around the world, as well as with partners in the business community and public sector. SMU’s city campus is a modern facility located in the heart of downtown Singapore, fostering strategic linkages with business, government and the wider community. www.smu.edu.sg
| Evelyn GOH Head of Communications & CSR ENGIE Asia-Pacific E: Evelyn.GOH@engie.com M: +65 9832 70771 | Corinne Kang Assistant Director, Corporate Communications Singapore Management University E: corinnekang@smu.edu.sg M: +6598301164 |
| Danny Lim Director IN.FOM on behalf of ENGIE Asia-Pacific E: danny@infom.asia M: +65 9118 8496 | Raymond Tan Account Director Arcis Communications on behalf of SGTech E: raymond@arciscommunications.com M: +65 9673 9029 |
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