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Sustainability

Carbon Usage Effectiveness

CUE

Annual CO₂ equivalent emissions from data centre energy divided by IT equipment energy in kWh.

Full Definition

Carbon Usage Effectiveness (CUE) quantifies greenhouse gas emissions per unit of IT workload energy. Calculated as total CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) emissions attributable to the data centre ÷ IT energy (kWh). CUE is influenced by the carbon intensity of the local electricity grid, renewable energy procurement, and on-site generation. A facility powered entirely by zero-carbon electricity achieves a CUE of zero.

Also Known As

carbon usage effectiveness

Source Reference

The Green Grid White Paper #32

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