Impact Stories
Equinix
About this company
Equinix is an internet and data centre company considered to be the largest in the world (1). They currently manage 270 data centres across 33 countries and have over 10,000 customers. As a ‘neutral digital platform’, they offer equal, open access to all customers and partners, regardless of which networks, cloud providers, or services they use or compete with. Their mission is ‘to accelerate digital innovation through powerful interconnections, simply, sustainably and securely and through their Foundation (more on this below), they are helping to advance digital inclusion in communities around the world.
Why Pathfinder invested
We see data centres as a key investment in our future and paramount in the face of growing AI uptake. However, not all data centres are created equal, some operate without robust sustainable goals, others like Next DC and Infratil invest heavily in sustainability. Equinix stand out for their infrastructure innovation, goals to decarbonise and ambition to set new industry standards.
Due to the size of the company any efforts to reduce electricity consumption, increase renewable energy, improve water usage, energy intensity or their emissions makes a big difference. For example, Equinix’s 37 MW Bloom Energy deployment saves around 18.1 billion litres of water per year which is a saving equivalent to the annual water consumption of 83,000 New Zealand households (2).
What positive impact this company is making
Equinix’s website and Sustainability Report showcase multiple examples of the impact the company is making, but here are a few that stood out to our investment team:
Net-zero target: Equinix has an ambitious strategy to achieve net-zero greenhouse gases by 2040 in line with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). The strategy is centred around implementing energy efficiency initiatives and piloting low carbon energy solutions across their portfolio as well as collaborating with suppliers to address emissions within their value chain. Equinix aims to achieve 100% clean renewable energy across their global portfolio by 2030 (3). Their ambitious goals also help their customers (that include over 100,000 companies across tech, telecommunication and manufacturing) to meet their own climate goals by lowering emissions in their digital supply chains (4).
In real terms, last year the company reported they had improved Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) by more than 6% over 2024 and achieved 96% renewable energy coverage across their global portfolio.
Climate action at scale: Between 2020 and March 2025, Equinix has issued approximately US$7 billion in green bonds. This makes them one of the top five US issuers of green bonds. This is allowing Equinix to advance their sustainability goals and drive improvements in operational efficiency. Projects they are currently working on include large-scale wind farms and green building and energy projects - like heat recovery systems, state-or-the-art cooling technologies, redesigned chilled water production and rooftop greenhouses.
Not sure what a green bond is? Find out here.
Circularity innovation: Equinix has embedded circular principles throughout the lifecycle of their data centres. They prioritise:
Heat recovery & export - a process used to capture and convert residual heat into a suitable form to be used in local community businesses, residences and community facilities providing increasing energy resilience during climate events. For example, in Paris one of their data centers heats the Paris Olympic Aquatic Centre and has plans for a 420 square metre greenhouse on its roof that will grow food for people in need.
Waste management – from the construction of their data centres to recycling old equipment
Using low-embodied-carbon building materials (materials or products that are manufactured with less carbon emissions throughout their lifecycle-especially during extraction, production, transport, and construction) and monitoring them from their raw source to end-of-life and beyond.
Measuring and optimising water use resources and measuring water usage effectiveness as well as driving best practice in the industry.
Supporting biodiversity by including ‘green space’ in new sites and encouraging all employees to support biodiversity enhancement projects.
The results are measured and reported in their Corporate Sustainability Program. Circularity - Equinix Sustainability
Strengthening communities: employees are empowered to give back, with a focus on helping the communities where they live and work. In 2024, over $4.1 million (USD) in funding was donated to 2,300+ causes through employee donations, matching gifts, community-based donations, crisis response efforts and Equinix Foundation grants. Additionally, employees volunteered hours of their time and expertise to enhance digital literacy (think STEM, computer knowledge, financial literacy) and help people in need, like the homeless, or those affected by weather events.
Sources & further reading:
Sources & other reading:
(1) Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, nd www.equinix.com.
(2) https://www.branz.co.nz/sustainable-building/up-spec/water-management/ (Based on a whole household of 600L use per day, 600x365 = 219000L per year (average household, 4.8 billion gallons to litres = 18,169,976,563L (18.1 billion)).
(3) Our Communities - Equinix Sustainability
(4) Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Equinix Sustainability (targets)
Equinix FY2024 Sustainability Report Highlights | Equinix Reports