Digital Edge launches first ever ESG report to support investment in a sustainable digital futu

Fast-growing Asia focused data center platform pledges to be carbon neutral by 2030.

(Singapore, 19 April 2022) Digital Edge (Singapore) Holdings Pte. Ltd. (“Digital Edge”) has today published its first Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report which outlines the company’s mission and plans to build a sustainable digital future. Following the launch of Digital Edge’s operations in 2020, the report sets out broad ESG ambitions for the company as it continues to expand its footprint across Asia, including a commitment to be carbon neutral by the end of this decade.

As demand for digital infrastructure increases exponentially, Digital Edge is committed to bridging the digital divide in a way that is both responsible and sustainable, and that respects the local communities in which the company operates. Digital Edge’s first ever ESG report sets out three key pillars which underpin this commitment and form the basis of the company’s ESG strategy; these are Respect for Resources, Respect for People & Communities and Respect for Transparency. Each of these pillars is subdivided into material topics that are focus areas for the business, supported by relevant key performance indicators.

Highlights include:
• Digital Edge has set an ambition to be a carbon neutral data center organization by 2030. It aims to achieve this by sourcing at least 50% of its power from renewable or carbon free resources by 2025 and pursuing green building best-in-class standards for all new greenfield constructions.
• Digital Edge commits to ensuring all of its newly constructed data centers will be designed to achieve a peak Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.3 or less, with a target annualized PUE of 1.2 or less and a Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) of 1.4 or less, as part of the company’s focus on energy efficiency.
• The report also emphasises the collaborative nature of ESG commitments, and the need for Digital Edge to look beyond its internal operations to achieve a more sustainable digital ecosystem. This includes:
o Pledging to find the right local partners that respect the qualities of each unique culture within which the company operates, with an emphasis on community relations and local job creation; and
o Committing to drive best practice across its supply chain, as evidenced by the establishment of a Business Partner Code of Conduct at the company’s inception, alongside a robust third-party due diligence process.

Digital Edge’s initial ESG report includes an assessment against several key metrics for each of the three core pillars for 2021, the company’s first full year of operations, and commits to publish an update in early 2023 to ensure it is held accountable to these targets.

Samuel Lee, Digital Edge’s Chief Executive said, “Our senior management team and investors share a commitment to build our company on a strong foundation of excellence in ESG. While we recognize that as a relatively new market entrant we are only at the beginning of our ESG journey, this also means we have the opportunity to do the right thing from day one.” He added, “Our first ESG report is designed to set the tone for the way forward as our business scales and intrinsically links our ESG goals with our commercial success. Ultimately our aim is to lead by example and raise the bar for the industry as a whole.”

Chief Development Officer and member of the company’s ESG Steering Committee, Jay Park, commented, “At Digital Edge we want to set an ambition for both us and the wider industry to work towards. That’s why from the outset my team has been focused on leveraging the latest innovations in technology and engineering design to develop some of the most highly energy efficient data centers in the region. But only by working together with our peers, partners, suppliers and customers will we be able to transform the future of digital infrastructure for the better.”

Andrew Thomas, Managing Director with Stonepeak, added, “At Stonepeak we are strong proponents of embedding meaningful sustainability and climate action initiatives into our own operations as a firm and across our entire portfolio. Digital Edge is leading by example with its ambitious approach to ESG and we look forward to continuing to support the company in its efforts to create a truly sustainable data center ecosystem in Asia.”

About Digital Edge

Headquartered in Singapore, Digital Edge is a trusted and forward-looking data center platform company, established to transform digital infrastructure in Asia. Through building and operating state-of-the-art, energy efficient data centers rich with connectivity options, Digital Edge aims to bring new colocation and interconnect options to the Asian market, making infrastructure deployment in the region easy, efficient and economical.
Digital Edge was founded by a seasoned senior management team with decades of industry experience and an established track record of value creation in the data center, cloud and telecommunications industries in the Asia Pacific region. Backed by leading alternative investment firm Stonepeak, Digital Edge has in excess of US$1 billion in deployed and committed capital, establishing itself as a market leading pan-Asia data center platform. The company provides data center and fibre services across Asia, with a presence in Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines.