Sustainability & Environment

Image f. Sustainability & Environment

Because the operation of high-performance computing centers requires sizable amounts of energy and other resources, HLRS has committed itself to taking practical measures whenever possible to reduce its CO2 footprint, prevent pollution, and limit other negative effects on the environment.

HLRS is continually working improve its environmental and energy performance. It has developed and implemented a comprehensive set of guidelines for environmental and energy management at HLRS, covering all aspects of the center's operations. All employees at HLRS are involved in ensuring that these guidelines are put into practice and in the continual improvement of HLRS's environmental sustainability over time.

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Certified for Environmental and Energy Management

HLRS's approach to sustainability is formally recognized under the Eco Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and ISO international standards.

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Simulation supports sustainability

HLRS plays an important role in supporting research focused on improving sustainability in other sectors of society. Simulation using supercomputers at HLRS is essential, for example, in research to improve fuel combustion efficiency, to design more energy-efficient wind turbines, cars, and airplanes, and to create more precise and reliable models of weather and climate change. New insights delivered using simulation are thus supporting the development of technologies and products that improve sustainability more broadly.

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HLRS is committed to sharing its knowledge about sustainability, organizing events that promote the professional exchange of information about sustainability best practices in supercomputing, and promoting the center's achievements to the wider public.

Sustainability Policy

This document provides an overview of HLRS's sustainability goals, including responsible use of resources and avoidance of pollution.

Energy Policy

To ensure HLRS's sustainable development, minimizing energy consumption and continually improving our energy efficiency are important goals.

Supporters & Collaborators

Partners in the State of Baden-Württemberg and the University of Stuttgart were instrumental in our development of an environmental management plan.

Outreach & Networking

HLRS aims to be a leader in improving sustainability in supercomputing and shares its knowledge with others in the HPC and IT communities.

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Sustainability Publications

These documents provide detailed overviews of the measures that HLRS and its partner organization, the Institute for High-Performance Computing (IHR), are taking to improve environmental and energy performance.


Environmental Statement 2021

This annual publication, a requirement of EMAS certification, contains our latest policies and efforts related to sustainability and environmental protection. (German - PDF, 2.6 MB)

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Sustainability in Computing Centers: A Practical Guide

If you work at a public or commercial computing center and want to improve its environmental performance, this report on our experiences can help you get started. (PDF, 8.9 MB)

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Sustainability Report 2014/2015

This publication documented HLRS's sustainability activities for the first time, and laid the foundation for the center's environmental management system. (German - PDF, 4.7 MB)

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Related Projects

HLRS receives funding to conduct research aimed at testing new strategies for promoting sustainability in data centers. These projects are aimed not only at decreasing energy usage in the operation of our systems but also in identifying novel approaches that could promote green IT more widely.


ENRICH

The ENRICH project will analyze current developments in IT and the operation of high-performance computing (HPC) centers regarding their resource efficiency and sustainability potential.

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DEGREE

The research project DEGREE will attempt to dynamically optimize the mix of free cooling and active cooling to improve energy efficiency while maintaining optimal performance.

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