H&M Group signs multi-year colocation deal with Swedish eco-friendly operator in sustainability push

H&M Group is reinforcing its commitment to drawing on sustainable colocation services to power its business by signing a multi-year agreement with Swedish operator EcoDataCenter.

The colocation deal is being billed by EcoDataCenter as an important step in the fashion retailer’s push to embrace a more “climate-smart data management” strategy, which has previously seen it embark on similar datacentre hosting arrangements within Sweden.

“The agreement covers the clothing company’s datacentre needs for Northern Europe,” said EcoDataCenter in a statement. “The H&M Group has well established and high set sustainability goals, and by choosing EcoDataCenter as a supplier, an important step is taken towards a more circular and sustainable business.”

To this point, H&M Group has set itself a target of becoming a “climate-positive” organisation by 2040, meaning it wants to embark on initiatives that will actively contribute to removing additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

As detailed in the H&M Group Sustainability performance report for 2019, the company is also focused on embracing the concept of circularity within its clothing production processes, by working to ensure only sustainable, recycled and reused materials are used.

“Our aim is to become fully circular. This is ambitious, but working towards a world without waste is essential for our planet and our business,” the company report states.

“To gain trust from such a large and sustainability-focused player as the H&M Group is fantastic and also an important step for us,” said Magnus Angermund, chief marketing officer at EcoDataCenter. “We are dedicated and proud to facilitate their digitalization, by fulfilling high set demands on accessibility, as well as to contribute to the H&M Group’s strong focus on sustainability.”

As previously reported by Computer Weekly, H&M is known to hold colocation capacity at the Stockholm Data Parks within the Swedish capital, with the site’s heat reuse capabilities flagged by the company previously as a key factor in its decision to make use of the facility.

 EcoDataCenter’s flagship facility in Falun, Sweden, is notable for being the world’s first “climate-positive” datacentre, with its excess heat also being reused to warm buildings in the locality.

Lars Schedin, CEO of EcoDataCenter, said sustainability is becoming an increasingly important business driver for organisations across all industries, and is informing the IT choices they make.

Indeed, data published by 451 Research last week suggests sustainability is on course to become a major source of competitive difference for organisations in the colocation sector by the year 2023, as enterprises continue to prioritise the championing of green issues.

“We see a clear trend in that more and more companies and organisations start to realise the extent of the environmental impact that IT actually has. This knowledge makes them value real and proven sustainability in the choice of datacentre services. This agreement is a really good example. We are very proud to have won the H&M Group's trust.”