Differences between Green Globes vs. LEED for data centers
Consider Green Globes and LEED certifications when building green data centers. Learn the differences in how the assessments are done and what each requires.
Facility owners and data center operators who seek to make their data centers more sustainable and energy-efficient have multiple green standards to consider. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and Green Globes are two certification options for data centers.
Both certifications use green data center standards to assess facilities. While they both examine energy efficiencies in facilities, the two differ in how they score facilities and how they obtain certification.
What is LEED certification?
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building rating system used worldwide and developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). It provides a framework for buildings and communities to create "healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings," according to USGBC. There are two main LEED certifications for data centers: LEED v4.1 Operations + Maintenance (O+M): Data Centers in mixed-use buildings; and LEED v4.1 Building Design and Construction (BD+C): Data Centers.
What is Green Globes certification?
Green Globes building certification was first developed in Canada before the Green Building Initiative was founded in 2004. GBI administers Green Globes certifications in the U.S. Green Globes for New Construction (NC) and Green Globes for Existing Buildings (EB) are implementations of American National Standards Institute standards.
Green Globes evaluates the environmental sustainability, resilience and effects on the health and wellness of occupants for commercial and multifamily real estate. The program offers four tiers of certification through a points-based system for any real estate project, including data centers.
Differences between Green Globes vs. LEED
Both certification programs are concerned with sustainability and green building practices and are voluntary, but there are some differences.
LEED has tech-specific certifications that encompass the building, its operation and the technology that might be housed within.
Regular LEED certifications apply to the heating and cooling needs for occupant comfort and other energy efficiencies, while LEED O+M: Data Centers addresses the unique needs of the energy-intensive buildings to cool the tech housed within.
The most notable difference is in the certification process.
For the LEED program, data center admins and operators submit documentation through the LEED online portal for review and adjudication by LEED experts and panels.
For the Green Globes program, applicants manage adherence to the requirements throughout a project lifecycle, which involves an online questionnaire, supporting documents, a preliminary assessment from a Green Globes assessor and an on-site assessment of the data center.
How to get certified
To get Green Globes certification, data centers must pay $1,500 to register the project and fill out the online questionnaire. Assessment fees are based on the size of the facility and the type of assessment: NC, Sustainable Interior, EB or Core & Shell.
Once the project is complete and the data center has met all the outlined requirements, a Green Globes assessor awards points based on compliance with the criteria. A maximum of 1,000 points are awarded under six areas: project management, site, energy, water efficiency, materials and indoor environment.
Green Globes ratings are based on the number of achieved points out of the number of applicable points based on the following ratings:
- One Green Globes, where applicants achieve 35%-54% of applicable points.
- Two Green Globes, where applicants achieve 55%-69% of applicable points.
- Three Green Globes, where applicants achieve 70%-84% of applicable points.
- Four Green Globes, where applicants achieve 85%-100% of applicable points.
To get a LEED certification, data center admins and operators must pay a flat registration fee calculated on a per-project (building) basis, the size of the project and the rating system/program. Organizations must pay a separate fee when they submit all the documentation and data necessary for certification.
Information needed to apply usually covers the various requirements of the program, such as location and transportation, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. The next step is to upload all the necessary documents to the Green Business Certification Inc. online portal for a technical review. The GBCI panel offers a preliminary review based on the scores achieved at one of four levels:
- Certified: 40-49 points.
- Silver: 50-59.
- Gold: 60-79.
- Platinum: 80+.
Applicants can accept the preliminary review as final and receive the certification or move on to a final evaluation. They can also appeal any review for an optional fee if they disagree with the assessment and rating.
Uses for LEED and Green Globes certification
The uses for both generally follow the type of certification data centers are looking to apply for and achieve.
The Green Globes NC certification evaluates new construction, additions and major renovation projects, while the EB certification is used on individual buildings or an entire real estate portfolio that's already built. For example, CyrusOne has two data centers certified for Three Green Globes EB for 2021 in Illinois and one at One Green Globes EB for 2022 in Arizona. The Equinix DC15 data center, built in 2020, received Three Green Globes NC certification that year in Virginia. The GBI directory provides a list of completed assessments and certifications.
Meanwhile, the Microsoft DM4 data center in Iowa was built toward earning a LEED BD+C: Data Centers Gold certification; the Verizon Colorado NEC was converted from a semiconductor plant into a data center and earned the LEED O+M: Data Centers Gold certification; and the Equinix DA11 in Texas has a LEED BD+C: Data Centers Silver certification. Equinix's achievement of both LEED and Green Globes certifications proves that a single company can obtain multiple sustainability certifications for its facilities.
Julia Borgini is a freelance technical copywriter, content marketer, content strategist and geek. She writes about B2B tech, SaaS, DevOps, the cloud and other tech topics.
