Water is an important, finite resource and we believe that every drop matters. Minimizing water use, being transparent with our water data, and restoring water in high water stress regions are key pillars of our water stewardship program.
Our water stewardship strategy focuses on sourcing water responsibly, driving water efficiency across our facilities and operations, as well as investing in critical water restoration projects in the same watersheds where our facilities are located.
Our Commitment
Meta is committed to becoming water positive by 2030, where we will restore more water to the environment than we consume for our global operations.
Minimizing Water Use in Data Centers
We are proud to say our data centers are among the most water efficient in the world. Within our data centers, water is used to cool our servers and maintain humidity levels. For locations that face environmental challenges – such as high levels of dust, extreme humidity, or elevated salinity – we are constantly finding innovative ways to minimize our water use.
Across our data centers, we have implemented highly efficient cooling designs that use less water by relying on outside air. For areas where direct air cooling is not possible, we use the StatePoint Liquid Cooling (SPLC) system, which is an advanced evaporative cooling technology that uses cold water instead of cold air to cool data centers.
Restoring Local Watersheds
Water is a shared resource and Meta strives to be a good water steward in the communities where we operate. Working with local organizations and utilities, we invest in water restoration projects in water-stressed regions that support the communities’ local water supply and help restore local habitats and wildlife. Restoration is an important part of our strategy to advance water stewardship and promote biodiversity in neighboring communities.
Driving Water Efficiency in Workplaces
Across our global offices, we implement circular systems to reduce our water use as much as possible. We install water-efficient systems in our kitchens and bathrooms and monitor outdoor water use by planting native species and re-using rainwater where feasible. In our data centers specifically, we have implemented highly efficient cooling designs that use less water by relying on outside air.
Highlight
We are committed to being transparent with our water use data. Our data is third-party verified, and we report on water withdrawal and consumption at each data center annually.
Resources
Download the following resources to learn more about our approach to water stewardship.
Public Water Reporting: Expanding the Operating Envelope
Driving water efficiency in our data centers helps us achieve our water positive goal by decreasing the amount of water we need to restore. In a recent pilot project at our Los Lunas data center in New Mexico, we realized increased water savings by testing our relative humidity set points. Through the success of this pilot, we have rolled out new relative humidity set point changes to the majority of our operating fleet.
2020 Volumetric Water Benefits
This report shares the impact around our latest water restoration efforts.
Water Restoration in New Mexico
Minimizing our water use is a key focus at Facebook, and we are proud to say our data centers use 80% less water than the average data center. When we started building our Los Lunas Data Center in New Mexico, a region known for its dry climate, we knew we wanted to partner to find sustainable solutions to address a shared water challenge with the community.