This article offers engineers actionable design principles to reduce IT hardware's environmental impact, fostering sustainability and cost savings through circularity and emissions reduction in data center infrastructure.
The data centers, server hardware, and global network infrastructure that underpin Meta’s operations are a critical focus to address the environmental impact of our operations. As we develop and deploy the compute capacity and storage racks used in data centers, we are focused on our goal to reach net zero emissions across our value chain in 2030. To do this, we prioritize interventions to reduce emissions associated with this hardware, including collaborating with hardware suppliers to reduce upstream emissions.
Design for Sustainability is a set of guidelines, developed and proposed by Meta, to aid hardware designers in reducing the environmental impact of IT racks. This considers various factors such as energy efficiency and the selection, reduction, circularity, and end-of-life disposal of materials used in hardware. Sustainable hardware design requires collaboration between hardware designers, engineers, and sustainability experts to create hardware that meets performance requirements while limiting environmental impact.
In this guide, we specifically focus on the design of racks that power our data centers and offer alternatives for various components (e.g., mechanicals, cooling, compute, storage and cabling) that can help rack designers make sustainable choices early in the product’s lifecycle.
To reach our net zero goal, we are primarily focused on reducing our Scope 3 (or value chain) emissions from physical sources like data center construction and our IT hardware (compute, storage and cooling equipment) and network fiber infrastructure.
While the energy efficiency of the hardware itself deployed in our data centers helps reduce energy consumption, we have to also consider IT hardware emissions associated with the manufacturing and delivery of equipment to Meta, as well as the end-of-life disposal, recycling, or resale of this hardware.
Our methods for controlling and reducing Scope 3 emissions generally involve optimizing material selection, choosing and developing lower carbon alternatives in design, and helping to reduce the upstream emissions of our suppliers.
For internal teams focused on hardware, this involves:
These actions to reduce Scope 3 emissions from our IT hardware also have the additional benefit of reducing the amount of electronic waste (e-waste) generated from our data centers.
There are many different rack designs deployed within Meta’s data centers to support different workloads and infrastructure needs, mainly:
While there are differences in architecture across these different rack types, most of these racks apply general hardware design principles and contain active and passive components from a similar group of suppliers. As such, the same design principles for sustainability apply across these varied rack types.
Within each rack, there are five main categories of components that are targeted for emissions reductions:
An illustrative emissions breakdown for a generic compute rack is shown below.
We focus on four main categories to address emissions associated with these hardware components:
We will cover a few of the levers listed above in detail below.
Modular Design which allows older rack components to be re-used in newer racks. Open Rack designs (ORv2 & ORv3) form the bulk of high volume racks that exist in our data centers.
Here are some key aspects of the ORv3 modular rack design:
These design principles should continue to be followed in successive generations of racks. With the expansion of AI workloads, new specialized racks for compute, storage, power and cooling are being developed that are challenging designers to adopt the most modular design principles.
Retrofitting existing rack designs for new uses/high density is a cost-effective and sustainable approach to meet evolving data center needs. This strategy can help reduce e-waste, lower costs, and accelerate deployment times. Benefits of re-use/retrofitting include:
There are several challenges when considering re-using or retrofitting racks:
Overall, the benefits of retrofitting existing racks are substantial and should be examined in every new rack design.
Steel is a significant portion of a rack and chassis and substituting traditional steel with green steel can reduce emissions. Green steel is typically produced using electric arc furnaces (EAF) instead of traditional basic oxygen furnaces (BOF), allowing for the use of clean and renewable electricity and a higher quantity of recycled content. This approach significantly reduces carbon emissions associated with steel production. Meta collaborates with suppliers who offer green steel produced with 100% clean and renewable energy.
While steel is a significant component of rack and chassis, aluminum and copper are extensively used in heat sinks and wiring. Recycling steel, aluminum, and copper saves significant energy needed to produce hardware from raw materials.
As part of our commitment to sustainability, we now require all racks/chassis to contain a minimum of 20% recycled steel. Additionally, all heat sinks must be manufactured entirely from recycled aluminum or copper. These mandates are an important step in our ongoing sustainability journey.
Several of our steel suppliers, such as Tata Steel, provide recycled steel. Product design teams may ask their original design manufacturer (ODM) partners to make sure that recycled steel is included in the steel vendor(s) selected by Meta’s ODM partners. Similarly, there are many vendors that are providing recycled aluminum and copper products.
Extending the useful life of racks, servers, memory, and SSDs helps Meta reduce the number of hardware equipment that needs to be ordered. This has helped achieve significant reductions in both emissions and costs.
A key requirement for extending useful life of hardware is the reliability of the hardware component or rack. Benchmarking reliability is an important element to determine whether hardware life extensions are feasible and for how long. Additional consideration needs to be given to the fact that spares and vendor support may have diminishing availability. Also, extending hardware life also comes with the risk of increased equipment failure, so a clear strategy to deal with the higher incidence of potential failure should be put in place.
Dematerialization and removal of unnecessary hardware components can lead to a significant reduction in the use of raw materials, water, and/or energy. This entails reducing the use of raw materials such as steel on racks or removing unnecessary components on server motherboards while maintaining the design constraints established for the rack and its components.
Dematerialization also involves consolidating multiple racks into fewer, more efficient ones, reducing their overall physical footprint.
Extra components on hardware boards are included for several reasons:
In addition, changes in requirements over time can also lead to extra components. While it is very difficult to modify systems in production, it is important to make sure that each hardware design optimizes for components that will be populated.
Examples of extra components on hardware boards include:
In addition to hardware boards, excess components may also be present in other parts of the rack. Removing excess components can lead to lowering the emissions footprint of a circuit board or rack.
Productionizing new technologies can help Meta significantly reduce emissions. Memory and SSD/HDD are typically the single largest source of embodied carbon emissions in a server rack. New technologies can help Meta reduce emissions and costs while providing a substantially higher power-normalized performance.
Examples of such technologies include:
Teams can explore additional approaches to reduce emissions associated with memory/SSD/HDD which include:
Meta engages with suppliers to reduce emissions through its net zero supplier engagement program. This program is designed to set GHG reduction targets with selected suppliers to help achieve our net zero target. Key aspects of the program include:
The Clean Energy Procurement Academy (CEPA), launched in 2023 (with Meta and other corporations), helps suppliers — especially in the Asia-Pacific region — learn how to procure renewable energy via region-specific curricula.
The Design for Sustainability principles outlined in this guide represent an important step forward in Meta’s goal to achieve net zero emissions in 2030. By integrating innovative design strategies such as modularity, reuse, retrofitting, and dematerialization, alongside the adoption of greener materials and extended hardware lifecycles, Meta can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of its data center infrastructure. These approaches not only lower emissions but also drive cost savings, e-waste reductions, and operational efficiency, reinforcing sustainability as a core business value.
Collaboration across hardware designers, engineers, suppliers, and sustainability experts is essential to realize these goals. The ongoing engagement with suppliers further amplifies the impact by addressing emissions across our entire value chain. As Meta continues to evolve its rack designs and operational frameworks, the focus on sustainability will remain paramount, ensuring that future infrastructure innovations support both environmental responsibility and business performance.
Ultimately, the success of these efforts will be measured by tangible emissions reductions, extended useful life of server hardware, and the widespread adoption of low carbon technologies and materials.
The post Design for Sustainability: New Design Principles for Reducing IT Hardware Emissions appeared first on Engineering at Meta.
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