As demand for data continues growing unabated, development of data centers continues to ramp up. Yet the facilities’ 24/7 consumption of electricity can impose a heavy load on power grids, and other concerns may arise from the communities surrounding these facilities. At Green Building Initiative (GBI), a nonprofit dedicated to improving the built environment’s impact on climate and society, there’s no question that sustainability and resilience should be prioritized for data center design, construction, and operations. Connect CRE spoke with CEO Vicki Worden to glean insights into how this should be approached to ensure success for owners, operators, and local communities.
Q: What are some areas related to data center development and operation that come under state and/or local review? Are there instances in which state and local policies might conflict with one another? Are state policies fairly uniform across the U.S. or can they differ significantly?
A: Several states offer tax incentives to attract data center development, and legislation in 2025 continued to require green building certification for eligibility. States now reference GBI’s Green Globes whole building certification in state policy as a means to achieving those incentives. Arizona, Illinois, Michigan and Washington had such policies in place and this year, Minnesota was added to this list.
In just the first half of 2025, there were more than 300 pieces of data center-related legislation introduced at the state and local level. Policies address not only economic development but also energy and environmental regulations, zoning, taxes, and reporting requirements.
Each location is unique with varying community priorities. When it comes to siting, designing, constructing, and operating data centers, GBI highly recommends the use of integrated processes that encourage community members and owner/operators of data centers to work together from the outset to identify priorities around sustainability, health, and resilience and address community concerns throughout the lifecycle of each building.
GBI’s Green Globes provides a roadmap that integrates the highest priorities for each building within a community and a portfolio and leverages third-party review and certification as a transparent way for owners to report on their progress against their goals.
Q: Does green certification aid in getting projects approved?
A: Environmental concerns top the list for most communities as they consider the incorporation of data centers into their commercial and economic make up. As sustainability issues are prioritized by data center owners, communities can benefit from requesting or requiring green building certification to demonstrate objective evaluation of a data center’s progress against their sustainability goals.
Communities and policy makers approving tax incentives or zoning for data centers should ensure that there is dialogue and follow through around goals for sustainable, healthy, and resilient buildings and communities. This process increases the potential for new data center projects to be approved. States that have approved incentives that tie in green building certification found that sustainability reporting requirements help address community concerns.
Q: Has community resistance to data center development decreased or increased in the past few years? What are some of the factors that have led to change in community stance? Are there areas of the country in which resistance to data center development is greater than in other, more “friendly” areas (such as Ashburn, VA, possibly the data center capital of the world)?
A: Across the globe, we are experiencing the edge of an energy crisis. In truth, we are well in the midst of it but not everyone is feeling it yet. Our global society is making huge leaps in the areas of communication, medicine, and research, to name just a few, and most of this progress is bolstered by the advances made in data processing. More data demand means more processing power, and that means we need more data centers.
Are we seeing more resistance to data centers? The answer is yes, but it comes from a larger, higher-profile dialogue globally about the need to significantly increase the number of data centers we have while simultaneously doubling the amount of global electricity we produce. The nature of data centers and the resources they require from land to water and energy mean that careful conversations need to take place.
At the same time, efficiencies in technology are increasing exponentially and there are many positive sides to what data centers contribute within communities from job growth and economic vitality to the potential for data centers to capture and transfer heat while also potentially supporting grid stability through energy storage.
What we have learned is through education and participation, the industry can change public perception. A recent survey by Clayco Chicago found that nearly 3 in 4 U.S. adults (73%) would support building a new data center within 20 miles of their home – and more than a third would actively advocate for data center construction – because of the thousands of jobs it would create, the economic development it would bring to the region, and the tax revenue the facility would generate for the community.
The dialogue can be improved at a local level when communities hear directly from data center owners and operators. Communities need to be assured that developers and operators are considering local needs by demonstrating thoughtful integration and that sustainability, health, and resilience are at the top of the priority list. Prioritizing third-party certification of their buildings and public goal setting are ways developers and owners build trust within the community.
Q: What design and operational aspects of data centers set them apart from other property types when it comes to achieving green certification?
A: There are a lot of moving parts to data centers. Where some buildings like hospitals, offices, and schools need to spend a lot of integrated design discussion time on human occupant requirements, data centers have fewer indoor human factors to consider and instead have more need to focus on how their corporate policies and building functions impact others externally in a community, such as prioritizing noise mitigation, site development, water policies, aesthetics, and utility communication.
Data centers and sustainability go hand-in-hand. While they use a lot of resources, they also cannot afford to waste any of those resources. As always on facilities, small changes can yield significant savings. Therefore, intentional dialogues are needed that keep communities informed and involved in the evolution of the planning process for each data center.
Q: How does the Green Globes program lead to greater sustainability in data centers?
A: GBI’s Green Globes standard creates an educational roadmap that encourages sustainable thinking while directing teams to prioritize decisions that are most impactful to achieving sustainable, healthy, and resilient building outcomes. GBI’s Green Globes certification is available for evaluating buildings at every stage of their lifecycle, so it provides a continuum for owners and communities to continuously evaluate their approaches, benchmark, and make improvements. Achieving a high level of Green Globes certification helps to build trust between data center owners and their stakeholders.
Q: Does GBI usually work with developers from the outset of designing a project or can the certification process begin at a later stage?
A: For new buildings, Green Globes for New Construction supports teams throughout design, construction, and delivery. The earlier the process begins the better the potential outcomes, but it is used to certify newer buildings up to 18 months post-occupancy. For existing buildings, Green Globes for Existing Buildings supports evaluation of operations, leveraging actual performance data and identifies opportunities for improvement. Both of GBI’s Green Globes certification programs require third-party review and a site walk through by one of GBI’s expert Green Globes Assessors (GGAs) prior to achieving certification. A personalized and comprehensive final report denotes areas of achievement and consideration for improvements over time.
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