3. Definitions
Key terms used throughout the methodology.
Cloud Provider. A company that offers cloud computing services and solutions to businesses and individuals. In this methodology, the term refers to AWS, Azure, and GCP.
CO₂e. Carbon dioxide equivalent. A metric that expresses the global warming potential of various greenhouse gases as the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide.
Data Centre. A facility composed of networked computers and storage used to process, store, and distribute data.
Die. In semiconductor manufacturing, a small block of semiconducting material on which a functional circuit is fabricated.
Electricity Generation Water Consumption. The water consumed during the generation of the electricity that a data centre draws, reflecting the regional generation mix. Classified as Scope 2.
Electricity Grid. The interconnected network for delivering electricity from producers to consumers, consisting of generating stations, transmission lines, and distribution lines.
Embodied Emissions. The greenhouse gas emissions associated with the manufacturing and transport of physical server components, together with estimated allowances for end-of-life processing and for data centre shell construction.
Emissions. The discharge of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, expressed in CO₂e.
GHG. Greenhouse gases. Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to the greenhouse effect and global warming.
Grid Carbon Intensity. The average emissions produced per unit of electricity consumed from a given electricity grid, varying by region and time. Abbreviated as GCI.
Instance. In cloud computing, a virtual server used for running applications on the cloud.
IT Cooling Water Consumption. The water consumed on site in cooling the IT equipment of a data centre, for example through cooling loops, evaporative cooling, and humidification. Classified as Scope 1.
IT Electricity Usage. The sum of electricity consumed by the four component categories within the IT equipment of a data centre, being computation, memory, storage, and networking. Abbreviated as ITEU.
kWh. Kilowatt-hour. The unit of energy consumption used to calculate associated GHG emissions based on the carbon intensity of the energy source.
LCA. Life Cycle Assessment. A method for assessing the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product's life, from raw material extraction through manufacturing, use, and end of life.
Location-Based Method. A method for calculating carbon emissions based on the average emissions intensity of the electricity grid on which energy consumption occurs.
Power Usage Effectiveness. A ratio expressing the energy efficiency of a data centre, defined as Total Facility Energy divided by IT Electricity Usage. A PUE of 1.0 would indicate no energy overhead beyond the IT equipment itself. Abbreviated as PUE.
Public Cloud. A model of delivering computing services over the internet through third-party providers, typically on a pay-as-you-go basis, without the user owning or maintaining the underlying physical infrastructure.
Semiconductor. A material with controllable electrical conductivity used in creating electronic components such as transistors and integrated circuits in computer hardware.
Server. A computer or system that provides resources, data, services, or programs to other computers over a network.
SKU. Stock Keeping Unit. In cloud billing, a distinct combination of service, resource type, region, and pricing tier that appears as a line item on a cloud usage report.
Total Facility Energy. The total energy consumed by a data centre, comprising both IT Electricity Usage and facility overhead such as cooling, lighting, and power distribution. Abbreviated as TFE.
Usage Emissions. The greenhouse gas emissions arising from the electricity consumed during cloud operations, calculated by multiplying Total Facility Energy by Grid Carbon Intensity. Abbreviated as UE.
vCPU. Virtual central processing unit. The standard unit of compute capacity allocated to a cloud instance, representing a share of a physical processor core.
Water Usage Effectiveness. The ratio between the water consumed by data centre systems and the energy consumed by the IT equipment, expressed in litres per kilowatt-hour. Abbreviated as WUE.