GBI and the Future of AI-Driven Data Centers

Reflections from GBI’s Better Buildings: Data Center Seminar from Steve Lewis, Vice President of Americas, EkkoSense

I attended the Green Building Initiative (GBI)’s third Better Buildings: Data Center Seminar, where industry leaders came together to discuss the future of sustainable infrastructure and operational efficiency across the data center sector.

One message stood out clearly throughout the event: sustainability is no longer a standalone initiative – it’s now central to operational strategy.

As AI workloads continue to drive higher compute density and energy demand, operators are under increasing pressure to improve efficiency while maintaining resilience, uptime, and scalability. Discussions throughout the seminar highlighted how operators are evolving to meet these challenges through smarter cooling strategies, real-time operational intelligence, and AI-driven optimization.

Cooling and Energy Efficiency Remain Key Priorities

Cooling optimization was a major focus during the event, particularly as higher-density AI environments continue to reshape facility design.

Industry leaders emphasized the importance of:

Airflow optimization
Hot and cold aisle containment
Liquid cooling technologies
Intelligent thermal management
Real-time monitoring and analytics

Advanced cooling optimization is increasingly recognized as one of the fastest ways to reduce energy consumption while improving overall facility performance.

Operational Intelligence and ESG Reporting Are Becoming Essential

The seminar also reinforced the growing importance of real-time operational visibility and sustainability reporting.

While Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) remains an important benchmark: operators are now placing greater emphasis on broader sustainability metrics such as Carbon Usage Effectiveness (CUE), Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE), and automated ESG reporting.

Smart monitoring platforms and AI-driven analytics are helping data center teams:

Identify inefficiencies faster
Optimize cooling and power usage
Improve infrastructure utilization
Reduce operational risk
Support ESG and sustainability initiatives

Retrofitting Existing Facilities Creates Immediate Opportunity

Another important takeaway from the event was the growing focus on retrofitting existing facilities.

Upgrading legacy environments with modern monitoring, airflow optimization, and intelligent cooling technologies can deliver significant efficiency gains without requiring large-scale new builds.

For many operators, retrofits represent one of the fastest and most cost-effective paths toward improved sustainability and operational performance.

Looking Ahead

The discussions at GBI reinforced a clear industry direction: future-ready data centers must combine sustainability, operational intelligence, and continuous optimization to meet rising AI and energy demands.

EkkoSense is proud to be working alongside GBI to help operators improve both operational efficiency and environmental performance through real-time 3D visualization, analytics, and automated ESG reporting. The data EkkoSoft Critical provides to data center operators can also be used for the GBI Green Globes scheme.

See EkkoSense in Action

If you’d like to learn how EkkoSoft Critical helps data center teams reduce cooling energy usage, improve operational resilience, and streamline ESG reporting, book a 1:1 demo with Steve