Australia's first NABERS 5-star rated data centre

NEXTDC announced that its M1 Melbourne data center has been officially certified as Australia's first NABERS 5-star rated data center infrastructure facility, further demonstrating its commitment to global leadership in energy efficiency and sustainability.

NEXTDC's certification through the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) has set a high benchmark by achieving a level of energy efficiency not previously attained in the industry.

NEXTDC's chief of engineering - design, Jeff Van Zetten said, "Our goal is to set a new global benchmark in data center design that will deliver a higher level of sustainability for our customers and our environment.  We are responsible for building the digital economic infrastructure that will support our future generations, so it's something we take very seriously".

NABERS is a national rating system that measures the environmental performance of Australian buildings.  NABERS enables organisations to benchmark the environmental performance of their buildings, measuring their energy efficiency, greenhouse gas intensity and the overall impact on the environment.

The certification process for this coveted NABERS 5-star rating for data center infrastructure facility began many years ago.  A long-term vision for energy efficient design, coupled with the rigorous day to day commitment in performing disciplined onsite real-time monitoring and ongoing tuning plays an integral role in achieving a NABERS 5-star standard.

Ensuring M1's energy-saving design elements, such as the innovative use of indirect economy cycle free cooling are running optimally and continuing to maintain exceptional indoor air quality for the critical IT infrastructure is crucial to attaining the benchmark.   NEXTDC developed, owns and operates its own solar array on the roof of the M1 data center and has also been a Principal Partner to the Melbourne Renewable Energy Project (MREP) since its inception in 2014. In FY18, financial close on MREP was achieved, enabling the construction of the 80MW Crowlands Wind Farm in Victoria.

NEXTDC's COO Simon Cooper adds, "I am extremely proud of what the team have achieved. This is a significant milestone for our business and celebrates the energy efficiency of our data centers. Our dedication to environmental sustainability is core to our values at NEXTDC. Continued investment in this area remains a priority and we will continue to push sustainability boundaries and set aggressive new benchmarks for the data center industry".