NextDC

How continuous business improvement and increasing commitment, are central to achieving business outcomes that are more sustainable, responsible and energy efficient.

NEXTDC is an ASX 100-listed technology company enabling business transformation through innovative data centre outsourcing solutions, connectivity services and infrastructure management software.

With a strong focus on energy efficiency and sustainability through renewable energy sources and delivering world-class operational excellence, NEXCTDC is driven by ambitious sustainability aspirations that will continue to deliver exceptionally high levels of operational efficiency, illustrated by NEXTDC’s market leading Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) rating (1.4 in FY21 compared to an Australian industry average of approximately 1.7). Anthesis has been supporting them on their evolving sustainability journey since 2018 through various projects.

NEXTDC initially engaged Anthesis for assistance in transitioning to carbon neutrality and since 2018 they have been 100% carbon neutral, certified under the Australian Government’s Climate Active program.

Subsequently, Anthesis assisted NEXTDC in the development of a Climate Active-compliant colocation opt-in program to customers, with an end goal of their customers also achieving 100% carbon neutral operations when they co-locate at any of its data centres. The product was launched in 2021 and was the catalyst for them achieving 10th position in the Australian Financial Review’s 2021 Most Innovative Companies awards (Technology category). More information here. 

More recently we have assisted NEXTDC with a comprehensive climate risk assessment in line with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)  framework.

With support from key functions, Anthesis developed a climate risk and opportunity registry, which included a qualitative assessment of transition and physical risks, providing identification of priorities for future quantitative analysis (e.g., financial impact modelling for transition risk, such as carbon pricing, as well as physical impact assessments for operations and the supply chain). We then identified areas of improvement within the governance and risk management processes and collated the results for inclusion in NEXTDC’s inaugural climate change strategy. The resulting disclosures can be found in NEXTDC’s FY21 ESG Report.

NEXTDC’s evolving journey to building a more sustainable future is a valuable example of how continuous business improvement and ever-increasing commitment, are central to achieving business outcomes that are more sustainable, responsible and energy efficient. It also embeds resilience in the business and distinguishes them as taking a leadership role on climate in their industry.