Google Receives 14001 Environmental Certification for Data Centers

Google, which has some of most energy efficient data centers in the world, has received two important certifications for all them in the US: ISO 14001 environmental certification, and OHSAS 18001, for health & safety. It will now pursue those certifications in Europe.

Under ISO 14001, companies set targets for environmental performance and raise them when they are met, continually improving performance. Under OHSAS 18001, companies continually identify and improve occupational health and safety, reducing the risk of accidents and improving overall performance. Certification is awarded when companies follow-through and raise targets over time.

Google also says it reduced oil consumption 67% in its emergency back up generators by minimizing their use and through structural modifications which reduce the need for oil changes. Google also recycles all its server batteries.

Because of its attention to efficiency, Google has cut energy use in its data centers 50% and uses less than 1% of the total electricity used by data centers worldwide. It's signed two power purchase agreements to power its servers with wind energy. 

Google has six data centers in the US: Oregon, Iowa, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

The company plans to build a $300 million data center in Hong Kong which will open in 2013, and data centers n Singapore and Taiwan following that. 

Here's a brief video about Google's Data Centers:

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