Sustainability Magazine November 2024 | Page 72

ARK DATA CENTRES
teams , ‘ I need you guys to work together and you need to actually share experience ’.”
This unconventional strategy paid dividends . As Pip notes : “ That shared knowledge has made all three partners stronger because we ’ ve learnt from each other . It means we ’ ve also evolved in terms of our reporting requirements .
“ Our partners know that we need to be sustainable . They know that we need to be energy-efficient , they know that we need to be water-efficient , they know we need to be secure . What I ’ m really proud of is the fact that people I employed when I first started as employee number one are still with us now .
“ That evolution of joint aspirations , shared values and shared profit amongst all of us is really , really good . That ’ s what I think makes the difference between us and many of our competitors . We have a
shared ethos that values our suppliers , our customers , our staff and the environment .”
The skills gap : a critical challenge As the data centre industry continues to evolve and face new challenges , one of the most pressing issues is the shortage of skilled professionals in the field – a gap that threatens to slow the pace of innovation and hinder efforts to improve sustainability across the sector . As Pip emphasises , the challenge is not just about filling current vacancies , but about preparing for the future needs of the industry .
“ If we are going to revolutionise the world to be able to take best advantage of the data revolution that is coming , we are going to need engineers who can build marine turbines for generating electricity out of waves or tidal power , which will guarantee you zero carbon power supplies ,” he says .
72 November 2024