Sustainability
at GreenScale
Sustainability is at the core of GreenScale’s operations.
We build responsibly from the earliest stage of site selection, choosing locations where our infrastructure can create shared value by strengthening local economies and contributing positively to the energy ecosystem. As we scale, we do so with intention, supporting grid stability, enabling local enterprise, and driving long-term regional growth.
Our pillars of commitment:
Green Infrastructure
Investing in renewable energy and positively contributing to the local energy grid.
Scale for Good
Partnering with local communities, value chain, and customers for sustainable growth.
GreenScale’s sustainability commitments
Each week, we’ll introduce one commitment, explain why it matters, and show what it means in practice.
Starting on Earth Day (22nd April 2026), over the next 12 weeks, we’re sharing the sustainability commitments that guide how we design, build, and operate our data centres.
Why are we revealing our commitments one by one?
Sustainability sits at the core of our operations. It isn’t a one-off exercise or a box to tick; it’s something we return to daily. Each of our commitments is set, targeted, and tracked individually and so it’s important to us that they’re introduced with the same level of focus.
Explore the commitments revealed so far to learn more about what we’re committing to and how we plan to deliver.
Our sustainability commitments translate our vision to positively contribute to energy ecosystems’ into measurable action. They focus on the areas where we can deliver the greatest environmental and social impact, while providing clear accountability across our operations.
“We are proud to launch our twelve sustainability commitments, focusing on where we can make the biggest positive impact. As the data centre industry grows rapidly, so does our opportunity and responsibility to drive meaningful change. With clear targets and transparent tracking, we’ll measure our progress and hold ourselves accountable every step of the way.”
Anna Dowson, Senior Director Sustainability
Frequently Asked Questions.
About the Company.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Where is GreenScale from? | GreenScale is a British company headquartered in London. |
| Who owns GreenScale? | GreenScale is wholly owned by German investment company DTCP. |
| Who receives the tax revenue from GreenScale’s operations in Norway? | We will pay corporate tax in Norway and property tax to the municipality, both in line with national and regional regulations. |
| What experience does GreenScale have with building and operating data centres? | The GreenScale team has extensive experience in the data centre industry, having built and operated hundreds of megawatts across EMEA and North America. |
| Will GreenScale have its own management for the Tonstad project in Norway? | Yes, GreenScale will have in-region, Norwegian management for both the construction and operational phases of the project. |
| How will you relate to the Norwegian labor model? | We are meeting representatives from labour organisations and are |
| Who are GreenScale’s customers, and who will be the customers of the Sirdal data centre? | Our data centre in Tonstad will serve a small number of large, reputable technology operators, typically hyperscalers, major cloud providers or next-generation “neo cloud” compute platforms. These companies deliver essential digital services such as search, cloud storage, communication and artificial intelligence, and undergo strict due diligence to ensure full compliance with Norwegian regulations and our internal ethical standards. The facility will not support inappropriate or harmful content, nor will we host crypto-mining activities. |
About Employees at Tonstad DataPark.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How many employees will there be when the facility is completed? | In the operational phase there will be 200+ full-time equivalents. |
| What types of jobs will exist at the data centre? | In the operational phase there will be 200+ full-time jobs including engineers, technicians, maintenance staff, security, cleaning, management, and administration. |
| Will there be apprenticeship positions? | We will partner with the county and local schools to launch apprenticeship-programmes. |
| How many will work on building the data centre? | In the building phase there are an estimated 1000 full-time equivalents during the peak of construction activities. |
About Project Progress.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| When does construction start? | Groundwork is expected to begin in the first half of 2026; and building works in the second half of 2026. |
| When will the data centre be fully built? | All buildings are planned to be completed by 2030. |
| Will some parts be finished earlier? | Yes, the first building is expected to be completed in early 2028. |
| Have you received all required permits? | Different permits are required at different stages of the project. All the required permits up to the current stage are in place. |
| Have you secured needed power? |
About the Use of Suppliers.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| In addition to the employees involved in the construction and operation of the data centre, how many others will be employed as a result of the establishment of the data centre? | In building and operating the data centre, we and our employees will depend on many others who supply goods and services. This is estimated in the building phase to amount to 2000+ jobs, and in the operational phase approximately 450 jobs. |
| Will you use Norwegian suppliers? | We will prioritise local and regional suppliers wherever possible. However, |
| How do you attract local suppliers? | We have already established dialogue and will collaborate with regional business associations, the confederation of Norwegian enteprises (NHO), Invest in Agder, University of Agder (UiA), and others. We will continue to be accessible and proactively seek contact with relevant suppliers. |
| How do you ensure suppliers follow Norwegian labour rules? | Our robust supplier onboarding process will ensure that all suppliers comply with Norwegian labour laws and agreements. |
| How can my business become a supplier? | Contact |
About Environmental and local Impacts.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How much noise will the data centre make? | Noise will be minimal and well within legal limits. |
| Will the facility be visible? | The data centre buildings will not be visible from Tonstad; from Josdal they will be visible, but visibility will be screened wherever possible using landscaping. |
| During the construction period, there will be a high level of traffic and heavy transport. How will you handle the impact this will have? | During construction there will be increased levels of traffic to and from the site. We are exploring traffic reduction options, and we will work closely with the municipality to reduce the impact and provide clear notifications to residents in the area. |
| You have said that you will need to carry out blasting to level the site. What impact will this have on the people living in the area? | We intend to level the site in the spring of 2026. The law requires us to carry this out in a responsible manner and to provide sufficient advance notice before any levelling takes place. |
| What other pollution will occur? | Data centres have modest local environmental pollution when compared to other industries. Data centres do not emit pollutants continuously during normal operation. The key source of local emissions come from backup generators, and these are intermittent and highly regulated. We have committed to running our backup generators on hydrogenated vegetable oils (HVO) rather than diesel, further minimising local emissions. |
About Land use.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How large is the required area? | The plot of land on which our data centre will be built is approximately 420,000 square meters near Ertsmyra. Once built, our campus will occupy approximately 160,000 square meters, with a total building footprint of approximately 26,000 square meters. |
| How are cabins affected? | There are cabins that may see the data centre, but noise in the operational phase will be very limited. |
| What type of nature is affected? | The area where we are building is not designated as agricultural, nature or recreation land (LNF), but has already been planned as an industrial area, with a large transformer station as its nearest neighbour. |
About Being Heard.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| There have been complaints that affected parties were not heard during the zoning process for the site. How are you taking this into account? | We cannot comment on how the authorities handle complaints, but we welcome dialogue with anyone who has questions or feedback. That is also why we are holding several feedback meetings in Sirdal. |
| How do you consider input? | We evaluate all received input and are taking it into consideration as the project progresses. We remain committed to minimising the impact of our project on the local area and community. |
| How do you ensure affected parties are heard? | We have held, and will continue to hold, several dialogue meetings with the local community in Josdal and Sirdal, businesses in the municipality and region, as well as cabin owners. Anyone who wishes to provide direct input can also send their feedback to [email protected] |
About Energy Use.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How much energy will you use? | Statnett have allocated a 300 MW reservation. This represents absolute peak load of the data centre. However, under general operating conditions, actual usage will be materially less. |
| Does GreenScale’s energy use prevent other industries from accessing the energy they need? | No, our reservation is factored into Statnett’s long term power forecast. |
| Does new power generation need to be built for GreenScale to supply its data centre with electricity? | No, the reservation fits within existing capacity already available at Ertsmyra. |
| Does GreenScale get to purchase electricity at a lower price than the rest of us? | No, we purchase electricity at market price and do not receive any government or municipal support or subsidies. |
| How will GreenScale’s use of energy affect electricity prices in our grid area? | GreenScale is unable to quantify this as it depends on a complex set of factors, including central government and municipality policy, the future composition of local industry, improved energy efficiency, and planned grid investments, all of which we are not party to. |
| Will you have far fewer employees per kWh than traditional power-intensive industry? | Data centres are the new power intensive industry of our time. For Norway, we will provide a profitable operation and value creation for a large number of employees for decades to come. |
| Will the establishment of data centres like GreenScale’s mean that more nature must be developed for wind or hydropower? | No, we have been allocated energy within the framework of existing power production and grid capacity. |
| Is the reason GreenScale is establishing itself in Norway and Sirdal that electricity is cheap? | No. GreenScale is committed to building and operating sustainable data centres. Norway’s grid is one of the cleanest and most stable in all of Europe, making it an ideal location for our data centre development. The cold Norwegian climate also allows for energy-efficient data centre operations through ‘free-cooling’, reducing the need for mechanical cooling. |
| Will new power lines need to be built in Sirdal or the region because of this data centre? | The data centre will connect to the transformer station at Ertsmyra. There is no need to build new power lines as a result of the data centre. |
| What will the data centre do with its excess heat? | GreenScale is committed to making its excess heat available to the local community and businesses. We have already reached out to local business to assess the opportunities for heat offtake and are also in dialogue with Sirdal Business Association to explore new partnership opportunities. Our findings will be used to assess the costs and benefits, and will be shared with the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) as required. |
| Will GreenScale trigger the need for new wind power being built in the region? | We have no plans to develop new energy generating assets to power our data centre. Given that the Ertsmyra node is a net exporter, and well connected to transmission to support the Nordlink connector, we do not believe our development will trigger additional wind power being built in the region. |
About Data Centers.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Why do we need data centres? | Data centre capacity is essential for critical services such as healthcare systems, banking and payments, public administration, industrial production, logistics, mobile networks, cloud services, and modern AI solutions. Computing power has become as fundamental as electricity itself. |
| Why are data centres important for preparedness? | We provide computing power that society depends on. A modern society needs stable computing capacity, and data centres located in Norway strengthen national preparedness. |
Let’s accelerate your vision together
Whether you’re interested in sustainable solutions, collaboration opportunities, ethical sourcing, or advancing your digital infrastructure, we’d love to hear from you. Connect with us today and ask how we can accelerate positive change together.