Third annual report highlights measurable infrastructure upgrades and investments in workforce development
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Flexential, a leading provider of secure and flexible data center solutions, has released its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report for 2024. It outlines the company’s progress in commissioning high-efficiency facilities, investing in workforce development, and enhancing enterprise-wide governance systems.
“Our 2024 ESG report shows the path Flexential is on — responsible growth driven by principles that put people, sustainability, and trust at the center,” said Chris Downie, Chief Executive Officer, Flexential. “Over the past year, we invested in modern, high-efficiency data centers, strengthened our culture of collaboration, and deepened community partnerships. These choices are not temporary programs; they are commitments built into how we work. ESG is part of every decision, every investment, and every partnership. That mindset enables us to operate with integrity while ensuring resilience and reliability for our customers.”
Ryan Mallory, President & Chief Operating Officer, affirmed, “We will continue to raise the bar. As demand grows for secure, energy-efficient, and AI-ready infrastructure, we see a clear opportunity and a responsibility to lead. Our priorities include managing energy consumption, reinforcing strong governance, and investing in the people who power this business. We will stay accountable to ambitious ESG goals while scaling with discipline and integrity. Customers count on Flexential to deliver critical services, and our ESG commitments will ensure we are ready to meet that trust now, and in the years to come.”
Notable ESG accomplishments in 2024 include:
- Environmental Impact: Flexential reached substantial completion on Atlanta-Douglasville 1 and Portland-Hillsboro 4, using Flexential’s fifth-generation design standard, which has a design power usage effectiveness (PUE) of less than 1.4 and a design water usage effectiveness (WUE) of zero. Additional initiatives included the installation of ElectroCell side-stream filtration systems in Denver-Aurora, which are projected to reduce power demand by 89 kW and save roughly 782,750 kWh of electricity and 2.6 million gallons of water each year, and a retrofit project at the Raleigh facility that lowered cooling system power demand by 58.6 kW and lowered annual energy use by more than 513,000 kWh with an overall reduction of PUE by 5.7%. Flexential also completed 10 air handling unit retrofit projects that reduced PUE by 6% on average, implemented adiabatic pre-coolers at four facilities to cut peak PUE by about 9%, and implemented LED lighting enhancements.
- Social Impact: Flexential promoted 14% of its workforce from within and awarded merit increases and bonuses to all eligible employees. The company also provided more than 5,500 hours of training through its Udemy platform, with 66% focused on technology and 30% on business skills. Flexential supported workplace health through its employee assistance program, “Get Healthy” reimbursements, and health and wellness incentives. The company was also named a Top Workplace in Denver, a Top Workplace in Charlotte for the second time, and earned national recognition as a Top Workplace from USA Today. Through FlexCares, the company expanded its community partnerships and philanthropy to align with the values of its employees, customers, and partners.
- Governance Impact: Flexential once again met energy efficiency targets tied to its green bond asset-backed security (ABS) issuance, which reached approximately $2.1 billion. It launched an enhanced business continuity program to further address emerging threats and regulatory expectations, expanded its third-party vendor risk management capabilities, and continued to formalize oversight practices to align enterprise strategy with operational priorities.
Flexential is committed to strengthening its ESG performance, recognizing that responsible environmental, social, and governance practices are critical to long-term value creation. As expectations around infrastructure sustainability grow, we remain focused on transparency, innovation, and operational excellence. According to the company’s 2025 State of AI Infrastructure Report, 79% of organizations report rising pressure to improve infrastructure sustainability, and 51% are willing to pay 11 to 20 percent more for renewable energy or carbon offsets. These findings reflect the growing strategic importance of ESG across the industry. Flexential will continue aligning its investments to help customers operate responsibly and competitively for the long term.
Click here to read Flexential’s ESG report for fiscal year 2024.
Additional Resources:
View of previous year’s ESG reports:
Learn more about Flexential’s ESG approach and corporate responsibility.
Learn more about Flexential Data Centers and the FlexAnywhere platform.
About Flexential
Flexential empowers the IT journey of the most complex businesses by offering customizable IT solutions designed for today’s demanding high-density computing requirements. With colocation, cloud, connectivity, data protection, and professional services, the FlexAnywhere® platform anchors our services in 40+ data centers across 18 highly connected markets on a scalable 100Gbps+ private network backbone. Flexential solutions are strategically engineered to meet the most stringent challenges in security, compliance, and resiliency. Experience the power of IT flexibility and how we enable digital transformation at www.flexential.com.
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