RICS collaborates with iMasons Climate Accord to drive sustainability in digital infrastructure

RICS is collaborating with the iMasons Climate Accord (ICA), a leading coalition committed to reducing carbon in digital infrastructure, on a three-year engagement to continue driving decarbonisation in the built environment and natural environment.  

About iMasons and the Climate Accord

The greater iMasons coalition represents $150 billion in infrastructure projects across more than 130 countries. It includes several of the largest organisations working in digital infrastructure (particularly data centres), including Google, Meta, AWS, and Microsoft. The iMasons Climate Accord, an initiative launched by the IMasons Advisory Council in 2022, aims to enable accurate carbon accounting, a foundational step towards effective carbon reduction, which aligns with the RICS whole life carbon assessment (WLCA) standard. Membership in this coalition will allows organisations to showcase and promote their sustainability standards, guidance, and other work, while aligning and collaborating with industry peers.  

As RICS joins the ICA as Champions Movers member, together, we aim to achieve global carbon accounting and drive market-based decisions that support a low-carbon future. 

Why is this collaboration important?

The global data centre construction market is experiencing rapid growth across different regions, driven by rising demand for data infrastructure and services. In 2023, it was valued at USD 61.84 billion and is expected to reach USD 113.62 billion by 2029, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 10.67%. This rapid expansion presents both opportunities and challenges for RICS-regulated firms and members.    

Data centres are also large energy consumers: a large-scale data centre (hyperscaler) can use as much power as 80,000 households. This significant energy consumption, coupled with the increasing demand for data centres, puts immense pressure on the industry to embrace sustainable practices. Regulators and governments are increasingly imposing sustainability standards on newly built data centres, making it essential for RICS-regulated firms and members to adapt and lead the change.  

Through ICA events and initiatives, this collaboration positions RICS members at the forefront of the sustainability conversation within the digital infrastructure sector. Many RICS members are active in this space (including leading firms like Colliers, CBRE, T&T, Linesight, and Gleeds). They will have a platform to showcase their expertise in sustainable practices, including WLCA, to a global audience through RICS' and ICA's joint initiatives. 

As RICS is now listed as an ICA Champion Mover, RICS members will benefit from access to webinars and other resources developed in collaboration with iMasons. This provides increased visibility for our organisation and members in the digital infrastructure space, including opportunities to learn from ICA's thought leadership through initiatives like their planned webinar with the World Built Environment Forum (WBEF).

For updates on this collaboration and how you can get involved in shaping the future of sustainable digital infrastructure, visit the iMasons Climate Accord website, climateaccord.org. 

To learn more about the growth and environmental impacts of data centres, read our articles: Data centres: impacts of the rapid rise of this asset class and Data centres: can innovations reduce the environmental impacts of this asset class?.