Ficolo became Nordic Morning’s data center partner at the turn of the year. Nordic Morning owns the equipment while Ficolo ensures that it operates in a secure and reliable manner.

Data centers consume a significant amount of electricity. They already account for approximately 0.5-1.5 percent of Finland’s total electricity consumption, and this figure is likely to grow in the future. The power consumption and cooling requirements of servers represent the majority of the consumption of electricity by data centers. The Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications’ Green ICT action program calls attention to the need to improve the energy efficiency of data centers. Recognizing this need, Ficolo is the only Finnish data center provider that runs its servers solely on wind power. This progressive policy has led to praise for the company from Greenpeace in a report on the ecological impact of Finnish data centers *.

Ficolo’s environmental policy includes a commitment to developing the eco-efficiency of its processes and to optimizing data center conditions. In practice, this means the energy requirements associated with cooling are relatively low because Ficolo’s data center facility is located in a network of naturally cool underground tunnels. The conditions in the data center are monitored automatically around the clock.

According to Vesa Lahti, CTO at Ficolo, customers are increasingly bringing up environmental and energy-related matters. In response to this, the company plans to build an ISO 14001 environmental management system in the near future. Customers can also monitor their electricity consumption in real time via Ficolo’s customer portal.

Arto Salminen, CTO at Nordic Morning, says: “I believe the need for customer-specific environmental data will increase in the near future. Our customers want to know exactly how much electricity is consumed by the services and products we provide for them. I am pleased that Ficolo understands the significance of environmental issues in our industry and has a genuine interest in developing its services in response to the information requirements of its customers and their customers.”

The waste heat generated by server equipment is currently used by Ficolo to warm up its own premises, but other potential uses are also being investigated.

“Ulvila municipality (in Finland) and the local district heating company are planning to build an eco-efficient residential neighborhood in the vicinity of our data center, which would be warmed up by our waste heat,” Lahti says. “Local greenhouse entrepreneurs have also been knocking on our door to talk about potential cooperation”

*How Green Is My Internet? Comparative Case Study Of Nine Finnish IT Companies’ Energy Use. Greenpeace, 2013.

Text: Sari Kuvaja, Corporate Responsibility Advisor