Embodied carbon data centers carry comes from the steel, concrete and building work done before a single server turns on. It is a growing part of the story, and the numbers are still early.
A single site example
A white paper from operator Data4 with a consultant, reported in January 2026, found construction made up 39 percent of one facility’s total CO2 emissions, almost as much as operations. It covers one site and is operator reported, so do not apply it to every data center.
Why steel and concrete matter
Microsoft cites World Economic Forum figures that steel makes about 7 percent and cement about 8 percent of global emissions. That is why operators look first at these two materials.
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What operators are testing
Microsoft has tested concrete mixes at Quincy, Washington, aiming to cut the concrete’s embodied CO2 by more than 50 percent. That is a target, and the report did not include results. The company also says it uses third party verified Environmental Product Declarations for materials.
A vendor claim to treat carefully
Vertiv says steel frame modular construction cuts embodied carbon by more than half compared with a conventional concrete shell. Vertiv sells modular units, and the study does not name an independent assessor.
What this means for builders and buyers
Ask for Environmental Product Declarations on steel and concrete, and set a target for the whole structure, not only the visible parts. Ask suppliers to show the reduction against a stated baseline.
Small changes in a mix design can add up on a project that pours thousands of tons of concrete.
Keep two things apart
Embodied carbon is separate from operational carbon. A building can run on clean power and still carry a heavy construction footprint.
Every figure in this article comes from the sources listed below, and where a number is company reported we say so. Our Eco Tools page has calculators for water, PUE, carbon and efficiency payback if you want to test the ideas yourself. If you spot a mistake, tell us and we will fix it.
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Submit your companySources: The Register on Data4 lifecycle study; DatacenterDynamics on Quincy concrete; Microsoft on wood datacenters. Figures marked as company reported come from the company itself.
