The Asean guide to data centre development for region’s sustainable digital development
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KUALA LUMPUR (May 14): The Asean Guide for Data Centre Development was introduced to ensure that the region’s digital expansion is economically competitive and climate-resilient, as data centre growth across Asean is outpacing the sustainability frameworks in place.
The guide, having recently been endorsed at the latest Asean digital ministers meeting earlier in January, is a non-technical guide designed for policymakers, regulators and industry players to take note of constantly discussed metrics and how to implement sustainable policies.
“There are three main things that the guide covers. It presents a policy framework aligned with Asean’s institutional road map, such as what we already have, our digital master blueprint, and our green agenda.
“Aside from Asean policies, it’s also aligned to what we have nationally, in terms of our national energy transition road map and our sustainable data road map,” said Chan Chuey Hwye, a senior manager of digital advocacy, digital infrastructure and services department, and digital adoption division at Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), at the Data Centre and Cloud Infrastructure Expo 2026 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on Tuesday.
She added that the guide’s alignment with Asean policies takes into account the different development stages across the countries in the region.
“Each country in different progression levels needs to [tackle] policy developments differently when they plan for their resources or sustainable planning. [The guide] also provides real-world best practices of what’s happening, and why and how we can implement our sustainable models,” said Chan.
Renewable energy, greenhouse gas emissions, waste and circularity and water management are the four elements featured as the strongest influence on sustainable outcomes of data centres, with progression benchmarks for countries to gauge their maturity in each category.
The guide also touches upon the digital infrastructure trilemma, where the balancing of digital expansion, environmental sustainability and resilience in resource and security presents a complex policy and planning challenge to governments and policymakers.
Chan said that key three takeaways from the guide include the adoption of standards, beginning planning with the guide as a reference, the strengthening of tracking to help companies understand their current position in sustainability, and the innovation of sustainability solutions that can be adopted by Asean’s tropical climate countries.