Analyses & Studies
Singapore: Setting New Benchmarks for Sustainable Data Centres
Singapore has taken a major step to advance sustainable growth in its digital economy and reinforce its role as a leading global digital hub with the launch of a new, comprehensive energy efficiency standard for data centres.
The standard, SS 715:2025, Energy Efficiency of Data Centre IT Equipment, is aimed at helping operators, consultants and end-users achieve significant energy savings while supporting the nation’s long-term sustainability goals. It marks a major step in advancing the objectives of the Green Data Centre Roadmap and follows closely on the launch of the Tropical Data Centre standard (SS 697:2023).
Data centres form the backbone of Singapore’s digital economy, enabling innovation and growth across industries. However, IT equipment within data centres typically accounts for around 60% of total energy use, a figure expected to rise further with the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence and compute-intensive workloads.
To address this challenge, the new standard targets at least 30% energy savings through the careful procurement and efficient operation of modern, energy-efficient IT equipment in data centres.
The SS 715:2025 standard sets out minimum performance benchmarks for servers, storage and networking equipment used in data centres. These benchmarks are aligned with international certifications such as the US Energy Star and EU Ecodesign, ensuring that equipment meets or exceeds global energy efficiency baselines.
By providing a clear framework for selecting IT equipment, the standard empowers users to make procurement decisions that will reduce energy consumption without compromising performance.
Beyond procurement, the standard also highlights best practices for optimising the operation of IT equipment. Recommendations include consolidating workloads, replacing older systems with fewer but more powerful machines capable of performing more work with the same energy and regular monitoring of equipment utilisation rates to identify and eliminate low-use or idle assets.
These operational measures ensure that equipment is not only energy efficient on paper but also contributes to meaningful, measurable reductions in real-world energy consumption across diverse data centre environments.
Another important aspect of the standard is its support for higher temperature operations. IT equipment should be able to operate safely at up to 35°C, enabling data centres to adopt the Tropical Data Centre approach introduced in 2023. Operating cooling systems at higher temperatures can bring additional benefits of 2% to 5% energy savings for every 1°C increase, reducing reliance on traditional energy-intensive cooling methods.
This forward-looking approach reflects Singapore’s adaptability to tropical conditions and positions the nation as a model for other regions pursuing sustainable digital infrastructure and resilient data centre growth.
To further encourage adoption, IMDA is offering an Energy Efficiency Grant for the data centre sector. The grant co-funds the purchase of pre-approved energy-efficient IT equipment, supporting data centre end-users in upgrading their infrastructure to meet the requirements defined in SS 715:2025. This ensures that the transition to greener digital infrastructure is both feasible and financially viable.
Industry players have already expressed strong support for the initiative. GovTech Singapore will incorporate the new energy efficiency baselines into its upcoming IT Bulk Tender, requiring suppliers to comply with the standard and mandating the use of energy-efficient IT equipment within government data centres.
A leading global data centre operator highlighted that the standard complements its own sustainability initiatives and provides opportunities to collaborate with customers in improving IT efficiency.
The introduction of SS 715:2025 reflects Singapore’s holistic approach to empowering data centres. By combining internationally aligned benchmarks, operational best practices, financial incentives and strong industry collaboration, Singapore is equipping its digital infrastructure to meet future demands sustainably.
This comprehensive effort not only enhances the resilience of data centres but also ensures that the country remains a leader in sustainable digital transformation.
SOURCE: OPEN GOV
