The European Commission proposed a common rating scheme for data centres on 21 September 2026 to make their energy and water use more transparent. It expects the scheme to make facilities in the same region easier to compare.
According to quasa.io’s account of the proposed rules, labels would carry separate A–G grades for energy and water efficiency, rather than a single overall environmental score. Quasa.io says the energy grade would compare a facility’s total energy use with its IT energy use, while the water grade would relate freshwater use to IT energy consumption. Quasa.io says the label is also planned to show a breakdown of energy sources and cooling degree days at the site.
The Commission expects the scheme to make it easier to compare data centres in the same region. Piotr Kowalski, managing director of the Polish Data Centre Association, told ecoekonomia.pl that a data centre in a warmer country may use more energy for cooling than a similar one in a cooler region, even if both use equally modern technology. The outlet also describes a trade-off between cooling systems that save electricity but use more water and those that save water but use more electricity. Quasa.io says the Commission envisages an accompanying document explaining possible trade-offs between energy and water efficiency.
The Energy Efficiency Directive already requires monitoring and reporting of data centres’ energy performance. A Commission database publishes energy-performance and water-footprint data for facilities with significant energy consumption. Quasa.io reports that the database is expected to generate the first electronic labels from operators’ reports by 15 August 2027.
Separately, the Commission opened a consultation on proposed minimum performance standards for data centres on 21 September 2026. It remains open until 14 December 2026, with publication of the legislative proposal planned for the second quarter of 2027.
