Annual report reinforces QTS’s long-term approach to responsible digital infrastructure, community partnership, and sustainability transparency
ASHBURN, Va. (August 26, 2026) – QTS Data Centers, a global data center leader and Blackstone portfolio company, today released its annual Sustainability Report, available here, marking its eighth consecutive year of public sustainability reporting. The report details QTS’s progress across water stewardship, carbon-free energy, responsible design and construction, community investment, workplace safety, and transparent disclosure as the company continues to expand critical digital infrastructure across North America and Europe.
“At QTS, our purpose has always been clear: to serve others and connect the world,” said Tag Greason and David Robey, Co-CEOs of QTS. “As demand for digital infrastructure accelerates, we believe the industry must grow responsibly, with sustainable solutions that protect natural resources, support reliable power systems and create lasting value for communities. Our sustainability work reflects a commitment to the communities where we live and work and our belief that we have a responsibility to care for the environment we all share. We are proud of what this report shows: purposeful growth supported by a closed-loop cooling design that consumes no water for cooling once a facility is operational, utility partnerships that bring new renewable energy onto the grid and help support more stable rates in the communities where we operate, and transparency in measuring and reporting our progress year after year.”
QTS Sustainability Progress
QTS’s global sustainability strategy directly ties growth to measurable environmental performance, from carbon-free energy sourcing to industry-leading water stewardship. QTS’s sustainability goals are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the company reports with reference to the GRI Standards, the SASB Real Estate Sustainability Accounting Standard, and TCFD guidance.
In 2025, QTS:
- Improved its water usage effectiveness (WUE) by 46% year-over-year, well beyond its 5% annual reduction goal, marking the company’s 13th consecutive year of WUE improvement.
- Commissioned 100% of new greenfield data centers with its closed-loop cooling design, the company’s standard for new greenfield facilities, which consumes no water for cooling once a facility is operational.
- All data centers that QTS has built since introducing the water-free cooling design in 2019 use a closed loop cooling design that, once operational, uses no water for cooling and produces a WUE of zero.
- Once again, QTS achieved 100% utilization of carbon-free operational electricity by its facilities and designed 100% of new buildings to Green Building Standards, with 26 data centers earning ENERGY STAR certification in 2025 and EV charging stations installed at all new buildings.
- Secured $24 billion in green financing, supporting the construction and refinancing of more than 30 state-of-the-art data centers.
- Maintained 16 years of 99.999% uptime, reinforcing QTS’s operational maturity and reliability for mission-critical customers.
QTS Community Engagement
QTS’s community engagement model begins before construction and continues through operations, with workforce programs, environmental investments, and philanthropic commitments tailored to the priorities of each unique community.
In 2025, QTS:
- Advanced its Freedom Design model, the company’s standard for new data center builds, which incorporates third-party sound studies, offsite prefabrication that limits construction noise, and construction staging land converted to green space.
- Hired more than 90% of employees locally, supported by the QTS Data Center Academy, which offers paid training for individuals with no prior experience.
- Through its $10 billion investment in the construction and development of its Cedar Rapids, Iowa, data center campus, QTS is supporting more than 2,000 construction jobs and contributing $1.3 billion annually to Linn County GDP, in addition to up to $23 million through the Community Betterment Fund.
- Expanded global giving through long-standing partnerships, donating 136,402 trees with One Tree Planted in 2025, for a total of more than 396,000 since 2019 across global conservation partnerships, and sponsoring 19 new World Vision water points while providing clean water to more than 34,000 people.
- QTS employees also logged more than 22,300 volunteer hours in 2025, exceeding the company’s annual volunteer-hour target.
About QTS Data Centers
QTS is a global data center leader with unrivaled access to scalable infrastructure across North America and Europe. QTS delivers state-of-the-art data center solutions, robust connectivity, and premium customer service to leading hyperscale technology companies, enterprises, and government entities — while prioritizing responsible growth and investing in the communities where it builds and operates. QTS is a Blackstone portfolio company. Let’s connect: Q.com | 877.QTS.DATA