Partner With SDEA

Jun 26
3 min read

SDEA certifies data center sustainability on measured, audited evidence – and works directly with the operators deciding how to build and run their facilities. This is what partnering with us offers companies that serve the industry.

SDEA is a Swiss non-profit. We certify data center sustainability using 12 months of operational data and independent third-party audits – efficiency of facility and IT, carbon, and water measured against real performance, not design claims or self-reported figures.

That work puts us in direct, ongoing contact with the operators making infrastructure decisions right now. Twelve operators are currently in the certification process. Thirty-three more are in active dialogue with us – financial services, utilities, telecom, colocation, and enterprise, across Switzerland, the EU, UK, and North America.

For a company that sells into this market – cooling, hardware, energy, design, advisory – that pipeline is the point. Most of these operators are deciding what to buy and who to trust precisely as they engage with us. A partnership puts your name alongside an independent, audited certification at the moment those decisions are made, rather than alongside another vendor message they can discount.

What You’d Be Standing Alongside

SDEA is becoming a reference point for measured data center sustainability, and that recognition is spreading:

An expert group advising the German Federal Environment Ministry recommended SDEA's framework as a blueprint for EU-wide data center reporting. The IEA and policymakers in Canada and Japan have referenced the approach in parallel discussions.
In the past six months we delivered our first Platinum certification and our first certification in Germany, and won the Data Centre World Award for Special Contribution to Improving Energy Efficiency.
The certification portfolio now stands at 12 delivered across Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Germany.

We reach this audience through more than 20 industry conferences a year and an international readership concentrated in EMEA, roughly three-quarters of it outside Switzerland. It's a focused, senior audience – operators and decision-makers who shape what gets built and bought.

A Note on Independence

Our certification is worth something only because it is independent. Sponsorship buys visibility and access to our network – it does not buy influence over certification outcomes, audit results, or grades. We keep that line clear, and we say so openly, because it protects both your investment and ours.

How Partnership Works

We offer three tiers, starting at CHF 7,500 per year. Each adds depth of engagement on top of the one below.

Supporter – Logo visibility across our website, presentations, and 20+ industry events; event tickets; a sponsorship announcement plus a yearly feature in our blog and newsletter; full access to the SDEA Navigator for your prospects and clients.
Top Sponsor – Everything in Supporter, plus warm introductions to operators in active dialogue with us, positioning in our keynotes and outreach, and an expanded content program.
Premium Sponsor – Everything in Top Sponsor, plus industry exclusivity: one of three slots, with no direct competitor admitted. Joint events, co-published success stories, and an advisory role on the framework's development (separate from any certification decision).

Which tier fits depends on how you go to market and which operators matter to you. A short call is the fastest way to see what a partnership would actually look like for you.

The Case for Moving Now

The premium tier is limited to three slots, and we admit no direct competitors within it. As the European market settles on how measured sustainability gets reported, the companies associated with a credible, independent certification early are the ones operators will remember. That position is available now.

If this fits how you go to market, let's talk. Book a 30-minute call with our Executive Director Matthias Haymoz, or send us a message and we'll follow up directly.