Nxtra Data, Airtel’s data centre arm, has outlined its sustainability strategy and performance for the financial year (FY) 2025 in its Sustainability Report, highlighting progress in energy transition, climate action, energy efficiency, water stewardship, and green buildings.

The company highlighted that an efficient energy transition was the need of the hour to meet the growing power demands of data centers.

Energy Transition

Nxtra’s energy transition strategy centers on reducing reliance on conventional grid power and progressively increasing the integration of cleaner energy, supported by an efficiency-first design.

The company increased renewable energy usage by 14.5% in FY25 compared to the previous fiscal year. It also transitioned 49% of total electricity consumption in the core data centers to renewable energy and contracted 482,800 MWh of renewable energy so far to power operations across 65+ facilities.

Source: Nxtra 

Nxtra has become the first data center company in India to join the prestigious RE100 initiative, pledging to source 100% of our electricity from renewable energy.

The company is aligned with the broader goal of achieving Net Zero emissions by 2031. It has already made substantial progress on this journey, contracting 482,800 MWh of renewable energy to date and significantly reducing our emissions footprint.

Carbon Emissions

The company measures and reports its greenhouse gas emissions in line with GHG Protocol requirements, covering data collection, consolidation, and verification through structured internal controls.

Its carbon reduction strategy continues to evolve in response to the growing climate ambitions of our clients, many of whom are prioritising supply chain decarbonisation and greater transparency.

In FY25, Nxtra adopted a refined emissions boundary methodology to improve the accuracy and consistency of its greenhouse gas accounting, particularly for energy consumption associated with client operations.

Nxtra’s emissions disclosures for FY25 were independently assured by TÜV Rheinland, which concluded that the reported data present a fair and balanced view of the company’s sustainability performance.

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency remains the primary lever for reducing Nxtra’s environmental footprint. The company focuses on optimizing power usage effectiveness through advanced cooling technologies, efficient electrical systems, and real-time monitoring of energy performance across data centres.

Continuous tracking of energy intensity per MW of IT load allows Nxtra to benchmark performance against global best practices and identify efficiency gains as capacity expands.

Green Buildings

The report highlights Nxtra’s emphasis on sustainable design and green building practices, including energy-efficient architecture, optimized cooling layouts, sustainable materials, and integrated environmental controls.

It has selected all core and subcomponents, including electrical, mechanical, control systems, and telecom equipment, with a focus on operational efficiency and minimising physical footprint.

Green building principles are applied at the design stage to reduce lifecycle environmental impact, improve energy and water efficiency, and enhance resilience of facilities operating in resource-constrained regions

Climate Strategy

Nxtra positions climate action as a core business imperative, driven by the rapid expansion of energy-intensive data centre infrastructure. The company integrates climate risk assessment into site selection, capacity planning, and operational decision-making, particularly regarding water stress, energy availability, and extreme weather risks.

Last October, Nxtra announced that it would procure power from a 13.2 MW solar project in captive mode from AMPIN Energy C&I Sixteen’s project in Maharashtra.

Earlier, Nxtra had signed a new power wheeling agreement with AMPIN for the supply of 125.65 MW of solar-wind hybrid energy.