TierPoint and NC GreenPower Collaborate with Red Hat to Support Sustainability Goals

TierPoint, a leading provider of secure, connected IT platform solutions that power the digital transformation of its clients, and NC GreenPower, a nonprofit committed to expanding public knowledge and acceptance of cleaner energy technologies to all North Carolinians, are collaborating with Red Hat to support the company’s sustainability goals.

In January 2023, Red Hat, the world’s leading provider of enterprise open source solutions, released its Climate Ambition Statement, intending to reach net-zero operational greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The goal includes scope 1 and 2 emissions, as well as scope 3 emissions. The latter are associated with Red Hat’s electricity consumption in data centers managed by third-party providers, with which Red Hat works for data center space, power and connectivity.

“Finding ways to work with these data centers to procure their own renewable energy, be it on-site or through high-quality renewable energy certificates (RECs), is incredibly important for us,” said Dan Schnitzer, program manager, Workplace Sustainability, Red Hat.

TierPoint is one of Red Hat’s data center partners in North Carolina and has been taking steps to enhance the sustainability of its operations.

“We strive to be responsive to our clients in finding ways to help all of us achieve mutually beneficial sustainability goals,” said Pete Abel, senior vice president, sales and marketing operations at TierPoint. “Cooperation is key to making these things work, and Red Hat approached this initiative with that in mind. Their approach was, ‘We are in this together; let’s find a mutually beneficial path forward.’”

While finding a workable solution, Red Hat connected with NC GreenPower as its REC partner. A key benefit of NC GreenPower RECs is that they’re all sourced from North Carolina — supporting the local community. NC GreenPower worked with TierPoint to find and deliver RECs that covered Red Hat’s contracted electricity consumption with TierPoint in North Carolina.

“The thing we enjoyed about working with NC GreenPower and Red Hat was that both teams approached it from the same view — that this should be collaboration, one that works for all three parties, built on realistic expectations, trust and transparency,” said Abel.

Looking ahead, Schnitzer hopes to replicate the success of this story. “Red Hat is excited to work with TierPoint and NC GreenPower as our data center and REC partners, respectively, to kick off what I want to be the model for how this is done with all of our other data centers. Through this collaboration, we aim to drive an increased portion of on-site renewables at data centers, investment in heating and cooling efficiencies as well as electrical efficiencies, locating data centers where they can optimize outdoor air temperature for free cooling, or other natural elements that don’t take away from the environment but are able to push operational efficiencies higher.”

He added, “In Red Hat’s experience with TierPoint and NC GreenPower, we were able to demonstrate the positive impact that comes with doing your research, building a collaboration based on shared values, and bringing the right people to the table to help support our goals more effectively.”