General Atlantic and Systemiq Publish Investable Green Data Centers Whitepaper as Expected Data Center Demand Surges

General Atlantic, a leading global investor, and Systemiq, a systems change company, leading global sustainability consultancy and think tank, today published a new whitepaper, Investable Green Data Centres: Where Sustainability Drives Performance. The whitepaper outlines scenarios for the deployment of existing and emerging climate solutions where targeted investment can unlock growth for data centers in the future.

General Atlantic and Systemiq outline how sustainability levers can act as a de-risking mechanism and a source of competitive advantage as investors navigate their investment allocations in the data center and climate technologies space. The whitepaper argues that alignment of developer and operator priorities with sustainable solutions can mitigate risk and even accelerate the development of assets, presenting compelling investment opportunities.

Cornelia Gomez, Global Head of Sustainability at General Atlantic and the firm’s lead contributor for the whitepaper, commented, “Sustainability has shifted from a secondary consideration to a defining driver of value in digital infrastructure. In data centers, especially, green technologies are no longer optional; they are essential levers for efficiency, risk management, and long-term growth. The opportunity lies in backing solutions that deliver both impact and performance.”

“The data center sector sits at a critical inflection point: its energy demand is projected to more than double within five years, yet it also underpins AI applications that could reduce global emissions by up to 10% by 2035,” noted Mattia Romani, Partner at Systemiq. “This duality presents a compelling case for targeted investment – where infrastructure yield plays and scalable software solutions not only mitigate environmental impact but also unlock operational efficiencies and long-term value creation.”

“The energy transition is creating one of the defining investment opportunities of our time,” said Gabriel Caillaux, Co-President, Global Head of Climate, and Head of EMEA at General Atlantic. “Rising digital demand is fueling rapid growth in data centers, and meeting that need sustainably is where alpha lies. With the expertise of our BeyondNetZero and Actis platforms, we are backing solutions that deliver efficiency, renewable power, and long-term value at the heart of the digital economy.”

“Digitization is empowering societies to connect and thrive, driving one of the largest investment themes of our lifetime,” added Brian Chinappi, Head of Real Estate & Data Centers for Actis. “Investors who understand how to build and operate data centers, how the power ecosystem in each market works, and how sustainability aligns with enhanced value will be well-positioned to generate value while shaping the next wave of digital infrastructure.”

For further discussion of the topics raised in this whitepaper, interested parties can connect with Systemiq’s lead author, Amy Paterson, and General Atlantic’s lead author, Cornelia Gomez. Additional contributors include Mattia Romani, Peter Hulshof, Sarah Chung, Michael Kast, and Isha Patel for Systemiq; Federico Aspetegui, Sonia John, and Ade Okuwoga for BeyondNetZero, and James Magor and Michael Lau for Actis.

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Media Contacts

Jake Barnette, Jessica Gill, & Sarah Douglas  
General Atlantic / BeyondNetZero / Actis 
media@generalatlantic.com

Rosalie Hunt
Systemiq 
Rosalie.hunt@systemiq.earth