The QTS Difference
At QTS, sustainability isn’t just a buzz word. It’s designed into our infrastructure from the start.
As demand for digital services grows, so does the responsibility to protect the natural resources communities rely on. Our sustainability approach prioritizes water preservation and long‑term partnerships that strengthen both the environment and communities.
QTS data centers are built with a closed-loop system so that they do not consume water for cooling once operational.
This technology allows us to protect local water supply in the communities we call home. Once operational, our closed-loop facilities use municipal water only for standard building needs – similar to any other commercial building. As industry leaders in water preservation, we are proud to save billions of gallons of water annually compared to evaporative cooling.
QTS utilizes rainwater collection systems in our Atlanta, Georgia and Piscataway, New Jersey data centers. The system captures roof runoff into storage tanks and is estimated to have savings of more than 100 million gallons of water over 10 years in Atlanta and nearly 65 million gallons over 9 years in Piscataway.
QTS also has invested in reclaimed water programs at our Santa Clara, California, Fort Worth, Texas and Netherlands data centers, totaling more than 26 million gallons of reclaimed water that offsets the demand for municipal water.
Long-term partnerships
In addition, QTS develops research and innovation partnerships that improve data center efficiency and sustainability. We also invest in multi‑year commitments with local environmental organizations that support local wildlife, ecosystems and biodiversity to help reduce carbon emissions and restore natural habitats.
QTS’s Tree Development Replacement Program aims to replant more trees than are cleared during the construction of our data centers. By replacing the trees, we are minimizing the impact on the community and protecting the natural environment to support the entire ecosystem.
At our Fayetteville, Georgia data center campus under development, QTS is partnering with Southern Conservation Trust, a Georgia-based 501(c)(3) public charity, to plant more than 12,000 native tree species in the region. The initiative will sustain and grow resources by aiming to plant more trees locally than are cleared during data center construction.
Our partnership with One Tree Planted fosters a greener planet by combating deforestation, mitigating climate change, and promoting biodiversity through global tree planting and restoration efforts. QTS plants one tree per month for every 100 kW that a customer signs with us. Since late 2019, more than 395,000 trees have been planted.
QTS funded the planting of 4,000 native trees in Cedar Rapids, Iowa through partnership with Monarch Research’s Planting Forward initiative. Launched after the city’s devastating 2020 derecho, Planting Forward focuses on restoring tree canopy on private property to support long-term environmental recovery and community resilience.
QTS is funding a $1.5 million research initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to advance sustainable digital infrastructure. Research projects will focus on responsible data center development in critical areas like grid stability, renewable energy integration and sustainable landscape design.
These efforts extend the impact of our sustainability strategy beyond our facilities and into the communities where we operate.
