Ep. 199 Cecilia Hjertzell and Johanna Flood, Co-Founders of dcently

Episode 199 of the Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast features an interview with Cecilia Hjertzell and Johanna Flood, Co-Founders at dcently.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

Diagnose why PUE and the other operational metrics the industry leans on leave most of a data center's real ESG picture unreported.
Trace the environmental burden into the supply chain, where Scope 3 emissions can account for the overwhelming majority of a company's total footprint.
Quantify the hidden water cost of the hardware itself; roughly 40 swimming pools of water for a single UPS.
Anticipate the resource squeeze in the Nordics, where hydropower supplies about 40% of Sweden's energy mix and glacier melt puts that share in question.
Recognize the "perfectly bad match" of peak cooling demand arriving exactly when groundwater levels hit their lowest.
Rewrite marketing claims ahead of the EU greenwashing rules taking effect September 27, which rule out unsubstantiated language like "green," "sustainable," or "100% fossil-free."
Substantiate every sustainability claim before you publish it; buying certificates doesn't make you "100% renewable" if diesel gensets are part of your backup testing.
Prepare procurement for the Digital Product Passport, which will gate steel- and battery-based products from the EU market without full supply chain transparency.

Seat a sustainability professional beside the CTO in client and vendor meetings so both sides speak the same language; and catch the expensive mistakes early.
Hire subject matter experts into commercial roles, a shift already visible as former data center managers and engineers move into revenue teams.
Connect sustainability to financing through double materiality analysis, treating the ESG lead as the "spider in the net" across finance, tech, and investors.
Screen designs against EU Taxonomy criteria; the EU Code of Conduct practices and refrigerants held below 675 GWP — before financing is at risk.
Engage municipalities early to surface their real concerns, like the social problems they associate with imported guest workers, and design around them.
Brief your board on its personal responsibility for water resilience strategy and related EU compliance obligations.
Avoid the cultural misfire of leading with community funds in Europe, where a US-style "giving fund" press release can read as a bribe rather than a benefit.
Reframe growth around "do no harm" first, instead of offsetting damage in one area with monetary good in another.
Forecast the next 12–24 months in the EU, as a wave of new regulation and visible climate impacts reshape public opinion and the first revision of Decently's ESG playbook lands.

Host:

Joshua Feinberg, CEO
DCSMI

Special Guests:

Cecilia Hjertzell and Johanna Flood, Co-Founders

dcently

Overview

The discussion explored how dcently can improve sustainability standards, transparency, and trust across the European data-center ecosystem.

Cecilia and Johanna described dcently as an independent, nonprofit organization focused initially on the EU market.
The organization aims to bring operators, suppliers, municipalities, researchers, finance leaders, and sustainability professionals together to define a practical ESG playbook.
Water footprint monitoring will be an initial focus, alongside broader environmental, social, and governance impacts across the full value chain.

Data-center companies must look beyond operational metrics such as PUE, WUE, and CUE to account for supply-chain impacts, water scarcity, social risks, and future climate conditions.
EU taxonomy, greenwashing restrictions, digital product passports, and other regulations will require substantiated claims and closer coordination with sustainability experts.
Open questions: How should “decent” data centers be defined across different markets, and how can companies build trust with communities before development decisions are made?

Cecilia and Johanna shared their experience with sustainability reporting and data-center operations.
They identified a need to assess the entire ecosystem rather than relying on a limited set of operational metrics.

Discussion covered embodied carbon, supply-chain impacts, hardware manufacturing, freight, water use, energy availability, and community concerns.
Participants emphasized the need to assess long-term risks, including water scarcity and changing hydropower availability.

Sustainability claims must be evidence-based and use precise terminology to avoid greenwashing.
Sales and marketing teams should include sustainability professionals alongside technical and commercial stakeholders.
Technical content should translate complex concepts into accessible, emotionally resonant stories.

EU taxonomy requirements may affect financing and procurement decisions.
Boards, municipalities, suppliers, operators, and local communities all influence data-center viability.
Early stakeholder dialogue can reveal concerns and help shape responsible development.

dcently plans to focus on the European context while sharing ideas that may apply elsewhere.
The group discussed building a network, collaborating with existing industry events, and developing an evolving ESG playbook.

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