4.2.1. General Contextual Questions, Responses and Evaluation

An overview of the responses to the general and individual questions posed is presented in Table 6 below; a more detailed review and analysis is also presented as follows: the first three questions were designed to confirm the participants' knowledge and experience in order to validate their responses to the specific questions about CEDaCI.


**Table 6.** Overview of responses to semi-structured interview questions.

Participants were first asked for their definition of data centre sustainability: the most common subject was circularity, which was mentioned by (B), (C), (G), (H), and (I) who all had a good understanding of the principles of the circular economy, that the embodied impact of products is as important as that of operational energy and the need for a holistic approach to the challenge. (A)—the Circular Economy lead—did not mention circularity as such but alluded to it in points about the complexity of data centre sustainability, whole product life cycles, removal of redundant equipment, space used, and operational efficiency; both (A) and (C) commented on efficiency, and it is worth noting that both work for very large (global and national) organisations.

Economic, environmental, and social factors were each mentioned by 2 participants. (B) and (I) mentioned economics, and (E) and (I) mentioned the environment; all of their comments were linked to operational energy consumption, associated impacts, and use of renewables rather than physical resources, which was a little surprising considering the participants' comments regarding the circular economy. (C) and (I) mentioned social factors, although their emphasis was different, and while (C) referred to concerns about data security,

(I) referred to conflict minerals, which is keeping with their respective roles—(C) within a national operator that relies on DCI services and (I) a technology advisory organisation; in fact (I)'s entire response to data centre sustainability was the broadest, and all subjects, other than efficiency were specifically mentioned, which is also in keeping with role.

The second and third questions were about the participants' organisations (employers), what they are, and what they could be doing better in relation to sustainability. Economic, energy efficiency, social, and environmental factors were identified in response to question 2, and all participants other than (A) mentioned these in relation to current activities within their organisations, although (A) did talk about potential and future improvements. The subjects and responses were significantly interlinked, and participants referred to in-house and external practices (with clients and customers). All participants cited examples of good practice, but they varied according to the focus and size of the organisation and local political factors. For example, (H) works for a small consultancy, and all employees work remotely at home, or on site, with clients; although the employees are encouraged to cycle to sites, energy efficiency is dependent on personal habits at home. Conversely, (C) works for a huge national organisation and has driven good practice to make significant energy and resource savings across their IT activities. Employees of customer and client facing organisations ((B), (D), (E), (G), (H), (I)) are also driving good practice as part of their business and activities (e.g., increasing energy efficiency, extending product life, and reducing packaging and general waste to reduce environmental impact) and developing strategies, tools, products, and services to help their clients to do the same. There are also examples of philanthropy, and one refurbishment company donates unsalable, but fully functioning, products to organisations that develop IT skills in developing countries and support local charities that help people with special needs. There were several common observations, including the lack of robust recognised metrics and standards, for the secondary market and products; although several organisations are developing their own, they will not be comparable with each other, which may be confusing for customers who want to compare metrics.

Another common point relates to the increasing awareness of embodied impact and frustration at the lack of infrastructure, or policy, to guide and bring about significant change. (F) noted that, until recently, his organisation would not buy second life (refurbished) equipment because of issues around warranties; however, this is changing in response to policy change (specifically Wales' Well Being of Future Generation act), which is encouraging more circular practice, which could drive common metrics and standards. Finally, the general consensus of (C), (G), and (H) who are influencing change in house, and with external clients, is that sustainability has to be linked to the bottom line.

Unsurprisingly, subjects raised in response to question 3 included future, growth, and targets in addition to economic, environmental, and social factors. Both (E) and (G) were confident that their business practices are as sustainable as they can be at the moment, although (G) would like open-source hardware to be included in policy to increase market growth for this type of product as an alternative to being locked into single brands. This is contrary to (A), who works for a company that is seeking to increase brand loyalty by selling a service rather than equipment, one benefit of which is that the company will have control over the entire product life cycle from cradle to cradle. (B) and (H) mentioned that they could reduce the impact of travel and transport of goods, while (C) mentioned that the sustainability programme now includes resilience, so it can cope with emerging and future challenges, such as COVID-19, pandemics, and climate shocks. Finally, (I) commented that the organisation is based in rented premises, and they don't control waste and recycling at present, but they are measuring their current activities, so they can make their business activities more sustainable, and this includes signing up to the Race to Zero (carbon reduction) initiative. In general, all participants simultaneously recognised current good practice in their organisation and the need to improve.

This investigation and analysis of participants' current knowledge and workplace activities, practice, and attitudes provided extremely important insights into their business practice, role, and trends across the sector. It also confirms that their opinions about, and responses to, the CEDaCI project are based on high level of knowledge and experience. The subsequent questions related their reaction to, and perception of, the CEDaCI project as a whole and highlighted the value of stakeholder engagement.
