Certification
Step 2 - KPI Calculation and Audit (draft)
Our team has invested months into developing a unique tool to calculate energy efficiency KPIs for datacenters. In order to test your instance’s energy efficiency, you will receive the KPI Tool (pending application invoice payment) to test your instances’ measures. The resulting index should be compared to our published thresholds below to determine eligibility and level of certification (base and premium variant).
As a reminder, the KPI Factsheet provides an overview of the classification of KPIs into IT infrastructure, DC infrastructure and ingress energy sources.
The thresholds (updated November 2020)
Certification Process
The certification process allows applicants to register, test their measures using our KPI Tool and decide when to contact an independent auditor for the verification process. Once the SDEA board has received the auditor's report, it will review the application and determine its decision. If the application is successful, all the necessary documents for label communication will be shared with the applicant in due time.
Below you will find all the necessary information and documents to get started with your application for SDEA certification. For any questions, please contact us at certification@sdea.ch.
Step 1 - Application
To register, please download and fill out the registration form (below). This form will officially initiate your certification process. Make sure you have all necessary information at hand prior to registration. Please send the filled out form to certification@sdea.ch.
Information required:
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Technical contact information (person in charge of certification)
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Head of department contact information
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Company general information
Please note the registration is valid for six months, beyond which the registration expires and the applicants are required to register again.
Please note that to complete this first step you must agree to the legal terms in the registration form and pay the initial application invoice (see “Label & Certification Costs” section).
Step 2 - KPI Calculation & Audit
Our team has invested months into developing a unique tool to calculate efficiency KPIs for datacenters. The KPI Factsheet provides an overview of the classification of KPIs into IT infrastructure, DC infrastructure and ingress energy sources.
In the KPI Tool, you will be required to provide information regarding the type of structure the certification applies to. Certifications apply to one of two structures as described below:
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DC instance: In this case, either a single owner owns both the DC and IT infrastructure for the instance or the owner of IT infrastructure uses DC infrastructure provided by the owner of the hosting datacenter campus. In the former case, the entire DC instance will be certified with a label. In the latter case, the DC infrastructure should be separately certified prior to an application for a label for a DC instance with IT infrastructure.
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DC infrastructure only: In this case, the owner can provide DC infrastructure for others to host their DC instances. To be able to advertize the efficiency of the DC infrastructure, in this scenario the owner can apply for a label for its DC infrastructure alone calculated with nominal KPIs for IT infrastructure.
Information regarding the exact size and location of the instance will also be required and be verified by an independent auditor during the audit process.
To obtain a certification, you will need a Datacenter Efficiency (DCE) index that is equal to or below thresholds published; to obtain the premium variant, you will additionally need a Carbon Usage Effectiveness (CUE) index that is equal to or below the corresponding threshold. Label Thresholds illustrates the values needed to qualify for a given variant (baseline or premium).
Label Thresholds (updated November 2020)
DC Efficiency index
(DCE)
GOLD PLUS
1.20
100 g CO2-eq/kWh
SILVER PLUS
1.35
100 g CO2-eq/kWh
BRONZE PLUS
1.50
100 g CO2-eq/kWh
Emissions index
(CUE)
DC Efficiency index
(DCE)
GOLD
1.20
SILVER
1.35
BRONZE
1.50
Before submitting their application, applicants are required to contact an independent auditor. The audit involves validating KPIs that are measured by applicants and used in the KPI Tool to calculate efficiency and emissions indices for a DC instance or DC infrastructure.
The Certification Guide supplied to the applicant upon registration includes a list of auditors to choose from.
Step 3 - Validation & Certification
Once the SDEA board has received the auditor's report it will review the application and determine its decision (approval of certification and level assigned).
If approved, the applicant will be informed by email and will be sent a labeling invoice, followed by a labeling toolkit and guidelines for use.
The label is valid for three years during which a yearly labeling fee is charged for label use and communication rights (see “Label & Certification Costs” section).
Label & Certification Costs
The label costs vary according to the type of structure certified.
The label is valid for a period of three years.
For more detail about the costs, please send us a request including your company name as well as the type and size of structure to be certified to certification@sdea.ch or use this contact form.
SDEA is a non-profit organization and our mission is to encourage datacenter sustainability. All fees serve to cover the association’s operating costs, the development of the label, and initiatives to promote the association’s mission.
Certification is live
Find all the necessary information on this page.
Certified Companies
