On 21 September 2026, the European Commission adopted the common EU-wide rating scheme with an electronic label for data centres. This marks an important milestone in the development of a harmonised European data centre label. The Commission expects the first labels to be issued in 2027.

Data centre label creates transparency on energy and resource use

The label is based on data that data centres already report under European reporting requirements on their energy and environmental performance. In future, this information will be used to generate an electronic sustainability label automatically. In particular, the label is intended to make energy and water consumption more visible and to facilitate comparisons between data centres within a given region.

The label therefore adds an assessment of sustainability performance to the European reporting requirements introduced in 2024. It provides operators, policymakers and other stakeholders with a common basis for assessing the energy and resource efficiency of data centres. At the same time, the scheme is intended to create incentives for more efficient data centres.

Borderstep involved in developing the rating scheme

For Borderstep, the decision is the result of several years of research and development work. Simon Hinterholzer, researcher at the Borderstep Institute and Borderstep project lead in the EUDCEAR project, played a central role. Together with Ernst & Young (EY) and the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), Borderstep developed the technical foundations and proposals for a European data centre rating scheme on behalf of the European Commission. Simon Hinterholzer played a major role in shaping the development of the EU-wide sustainability label.

A key question in the project was how existing sustainability indicators could be combined into a transparent and robust rating scheme while also taking different regional conditions into account. The European Commission took up the proposals developed in the project and incorporated them into the system that has now been adopted, in a modified and simplified form. It had already published its draft for public consultation in spring 2026.

The new data centre label creates, for the first time, a common European framework for assessing the energy and resource consumption of data centres on a comparable basis. The fact that our work from the EUDCEAR project has been incorporated into this instrument marks an important step from research into European practice.

Borderstep research moves into European practice

With the Commission’s decision, a central outcome of this work is now being put into practice at European level. The technical foundations developed in the EUDCEAR project are becoming part of an instrument that is expected to be used across Europe from 2027. In this way, the data centre label translates scientific approaches to assessing energy and resource use into a concrete European policy instrument. — Simon Hinterholzer, Borderstep Institute

Simon Hinterholzer is a renewable energy engineer and researcher at the Borderstep Institute for Innovation and Sustainability. His research focuses on the positive and negative sustainability impacts of digitalisation, with a particular emphasis on the assessment of data centres and cloud computing. Through proposals for an EU-wide sustainability label and minimum requirements for data centres, he has helped shape the regulatory framework in the EU. In 2026, his research received the Best Paper Award at ICT4S. Working at the intersection of digitalisation, energy and regulation, he investigates how digital infrastructures can be made more sustainable and how their environmental impacts can be assessed robustly.

Dr. Severin Beucker of the Borderstep Institute has been invited by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (Konrad Adenauer Foundation) to join an expert exchange in Northern Virginia. The visit is part of an ongoing dialogue between experts from Virginia and Germany, following an initial exchange in September 2025.

Growing demand for computing power and the rapid expansion of AI are driving investment in data centers and other digital infrastructure. For regions with large concentrations of data centers, this creates new opportunities for economic development. At the same time, it poses growing challenges for energy supply, electricity grids, workforce development, and local planning.

The expert exchange examines how demand for data centers and digital infrastructure is shaping regional economies. It also explores what these developments mean for innovation, research, and technology policy. Discussions will address the role of data centers in the digital economy as well as the skills and workforce needed to support their continued growth.

Managing Energy Demand and Grid Integration

A key focus is the growing energy demand associated with data centers and AI. Large data centers can require grid connections of several hundred megawatts, creating significant challenges for electricity infrastructure and regional planning.

The experts will discuss how the continued growth of data centers can be supported by renewable energy and how waste heat can be put to productive use. They will also examine how energy and environmental policy can respond to the expansion of digital infrastructure

Borderstep contributes its research expertise on the energy and resource requirements of data centers, waste heat utilization and grid integration. The exchange also provides an opportunity to place these issues in the broader context of AI, regional economic development and technology policy.

A Long-Standing Exchange Between Virginia and Germany

Dr. Dale Medearis of the Northern Virginia Regional Commission has been a key driver of the expert exchange. Borderstep and Dr. Dale Medearis have been discussing data center development and its implications for many years. He has previously accompanied several expert delegations to Germany.

The exchange will continue in November, when another delegation from Virginia visits Berlin and Frankfurt. Meetings are planned with Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), transmission system operator 50Hertz and the Borderstep Institute. The delegation will focus in particular on Germany’s experience and current approaches to data center waste heat utilization and grid integration.

Transatlantic Perspectives on Sustainable Digital Growth

The ongoing dialogue brings together perspectives from Northern Virginia and Germany on a question that is becoming increasingly relevant on both sides of the Atlantic: How can the growth of AI and digital infrastructure contribute to economic development while meeting the requirements of energy systems, environmental policy and regional planning?