This is the annual revision of the Best Practice Guidelines for the EU Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency for year 2024 to update it to the latest technological developments to be implemented by data centres participating in the EU Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency.

The Assessment Framework is based on The European Code of Conduct for Energy Efficiency in Data Centres. This document compliments the CoC Best Practices Document by making the Practices more requirement based rather than recommendations. The Assessment Framework therefore provides auditors with the necessary tools to verify whether a data centre correctly applies the Practices contained within the Code of Conduct.

This document provides guidance notes for organisations wishing to sign the EU Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency.
This document refers to;

1. The Introductory Guide (This document) - Version 3.4.0 (2023)
2. The Best Practices document - Version 14.1.0 (2023)
3. The Participant Guidelines and Registration Form - Version 3.1.0 (2017)
4. The Participant Reporting Form – Version 14.1.0 (2023)
5. The Endorser Guidelines and Registration Form – Version 3.1.2 (2016)

With the strong increase of the internet the energy consumption of data transmission has dramatically increased.

The potential new electrical load represented by this equipment needs to be addressed by EU energy and environmental policies. It is important that the electrical efficiency of broadband equipment is maximised, while not reducing the service provided.

The Code of Conduct sets out the basic principles to be followed by all parties involved in broadband equipment, operating in the European Community, in respect of energy efficient equipment.

This document is a companion to the EU Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency and provides the full list of identified Best Practices for data centre operators as referenced in the Code of Conduct Participant and Endorser Guidelines documents.

Expectations are that broadband equipment will contribute considerably to the electricity consumption of households in European Community in the near future. Depending on the penetration level, the specifications of the equipment and the requirements of the service provider, a total European consumption of at least 50 TWh per year was estimated for the year 2015 for broadband equipment.

The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) supports local authorities in Sub-Saharan Africa in the climate challenge and in their efforts in ensuring access to clean energy. It is one of the "Regional Covenant" of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM). Under the CoM SSA local authorities are invited to make a voluntarily political commitment to implement climate and energy actions in their communities and agree on a long-term vision to tackle 3 pillars, namely access to energy, climate mitigation and climate adaptation.