iMasons participated in two events in Helsinki, Finland, September 18-19, 2019.

iMasons provides the platform for people working in digital infrastructure to connect, grow and give back. As a key pillar of the iMasons mission, sustainability is a focus of the iMasons Nordics Chapter.

iMasons members were invited to attend the Future Data Center Summit on September 18, 2019. Anni Laine, Chairman of the Finnish Data Center Forum (FDCF) and iMason member, generously invited fellow iMason members to participate for free.

On September 19th iMasons toured the Yandex Data Center facility in Mäntsälä, just outside Helsinki. At a time when sustainability is a key talking point in the data centre space this data center is one of the best examples of data center heat re-use. Excess heat from Yandex’s data centre is collected and directed through the district heating network to Mäntsälä households. In doing so, the Finnish city has been able to reduce the price of heating and slash its emissions by 40%.

“As a dynamic technology company, we want to lead the way and bring new ideas and new innovations to the industry,” said Ari Kurvi, the firm’s Data Centre Manager and long-time iMasons member. “For us, it’s important to give back to the community and make full use of the excess energy we produce.”

“Half of the neighbouring urban city’s needs can be fulfilled by our excess heat which is environmentally very impressive, yet this isn’t just about sustainability, as there’s also a very solid business case behind it,” says Ari. “Therefore, I think it’s important to show the industry that this is doable and to encourage others to follow our lead.”

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