Nxtra by Airtel, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, introduced its first sustainability report for the financial year 2023 today, titled "Responsible by Choice, Sustainable by Design." This sustainability report highlights the company's performance on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) parameters, targets, commitments, and the progress it has achieved thus far. Operating in over 120 locations, Nxtra specialises in designing, constructing, and operating one of India's most extensive networks of hyperscale, core, and edge data centres (DCs).
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Airtel says the report has been prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards for 2021 and outlines Nxtra's contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
Hydrogen-Ready Technology
As per the report, Nxtra recently became the first data centre company in India to adopt hydrogen-ready fuel cell technology with low carbon emissions in collaboration with Bloom Energy. The company has set an ambitious target of achieving 'Net Zero' emissions by 2031. Nxtra is actively exploring various innovative energy solutions to power its data centres and working on ways to create a more sustainable future.
Nxtra by Airtel said, "At Nxtra, our commitment to be sustainable is at the heart of our operations. We have also designed our workplace to be inclusive and safe, and have imbibed transparent governance standards and environmental conscientiousness that is endorsed by every employee." This report was launched on Thursday (October 26) coinciding with World Sustainability Day, the company said.
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Lowering Emissions and PUE
Over the past five years, Nxtra has witnessed a 20 percent improvement in Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), with a further target to reduce PUE by 10 percent by 2025. In FY 2022-23, the company saved 109,612 tCO2e emissions by sourcing renewable energy for its data centres. Airtel consumed 156,147 MWh of renewable energy in its operations, with a 33 percent penetration of renewable energy for core data centres.
Airtel also reported a 5 percent reduction in operational emissions across Scope 1 and 2 from the FY21 baseline and maintained a 'Zero' incident rate and worst potential severity for two consecutive years.
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Sourcing Locally and Diversity
Nxtra by Airtel sourced 98 percent of its procurement from Indian suppliers. In terms of diversity, Airtel mentioned that it has doubled its female workforce, increased the number of women in management by 1.5 times, and achieved a 22 percent gender diversity at the board level.
Nxtra by Airtel operates 12 large data centres, 6 new hyperscale data centres, and over 120+ edge data centres. The company has made a commitment to invest Rs 5,000 crore by FY25.
