Meta Switching Traditional Materials for Wood in Data Centers to Decrease Carbon Emissions
Meta and Microsoft are leading the charge in the tech industry, using mass timber as a key construction material for data centers. This engineered wood product, known for its strength, durability, and lower embodied carbon, is set to significantly reduce embodied carbon emissions and help these companies reach their net zero goals.
Meta kicked off this initiative in 2021 by constructing an administrative building using mass timber at its Aiken, South Carolina, data center campus. The company is now expanding to sites in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Alabama. By replacing traditional carbon-intensive materials like steel and concrete, Meta is aiming to reduce embodied carbon emissions by up to 41%.
The prefabricated nature of mass timber also offers other benefits. It reduces on-site construction emissions, accelerates schedules, and lowers costs. Furthermore, it requires less foundation concrete, sometimes by half, which further cuts emissions.
In addition to the environmental benefits, mass timber offers biophilic benefits. Exposed wood elements in mass timber buildings can enhance occupant well-being by connecting them to nature.
Microsoft has similarly adopted cross-laminated timber (CLT) in a hybrid strategy, combining timber with steel and concrete to build data centers with lower emissions.
The benefits of using mass timber for data center construction are numerous:
- Substantial reduction in embodied carbon emissions (up to 41%) by replacing steel and concrete
- Lower emissions from manufacturing, transportation, and construction processes due to prefabrication
- Lighter structures reducing foundation concrete requirements, cutting costs and emissions
- High strength-to-weight ratio and enhanced fire resistance, meeting industrial standards
- Accelerated construction timelines
- Health and productivity gains from biophilic design with exposed timber elements
- Contribution toward company-wide net zero goals by addressing Scope 3 emissions associated with materials
This trend demonstrates how mass timber is entering heavy industrial applications like data centers, offering a scalable pathway to greener, lower-carbon digital infrastructure for large tech companies.
Meta's net zero program extends beyond emissions goals. It aims to support communities, forests, and watersheds, setting a vision for sustainable timber sourcing. The company sources wood sustainably, using third-party audits to trace it back to forests managed for long-term ecological and social health. Meta also tests more sustainable building materials, including mass timber, and may use reclaimed wood where structurally viable in its construction projects.
Meta and Microsoft's commitment to sustainable construction aligns with their broader goals of achieving net zero emissions across their value chains by 2030. This initiative is part of a broader tech industry move toward wood-based sustainable building methods for data infrastructure.
[1] Meta's Sustainability Report 2021 [2] Microsoft's Sustainability Report 2021 [3] The Benefits of Mass Timber in Data Center Construction [4] Meta and Microsoft's Green Data Centers [5] The Future of Green Data Centers: Mass Timber
- Meta's approach to environmental-science, as demonstrated in their Sustainability Report 2021, extends beyond emissions goals, aiming to support communities, forests, and watersheds, setting a vision for sustainable timber sourcing.
- Leveraging technological advancements, Microsoft has adopted cross-laminated timber (CLT) in a hybrid strategy, thereby, utilizing technology to build data centers that combat climate-change by lowering emissions associated with materials.
