The European Commission has proposed an EU-wide sustainability label for data centres, using A-to-G ratings to show energy and water efficiency alongside details of clean energy sourcing and support for electricity grids.
The proposal, announced on 21 September 2026, would automatically generate labels from a pan-European database that has collected operating data from larger facilities since September 2024. The first labels for individual data centres are expected by 15 August 2027, followed by annual updates.
The scheme applies to data centres with installed information technology capacity above 500 kW. Facilities with installed IT capacity of at least 500 kW have been required to submit operational information to the database since 2024, and reporting was completed in 2024 and 2025.
The Commission is pursuing the labels as the sector's electricity needs rise. Data centres currently consume about 2.5% of the European Union's electricity. Installed capacity is expected to increase from approximately 12 GW in 2025 to 28 GW by 2030, amid growth in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and data-intensive workloads.
Under the proposed system, energy efficiency would be graded through Power Usage Effectiveness, or PUE. Class A would cover facilities with a PUE of 1.15 or less, while class G would apply above 1.9.
Water performance would be measured through Water Usage Effectiveness, or WUE. A facility would receive class A with a WUE of 0.1 or less, while class G would apply above 1.0.
The label would carry more than the two ratings. It would identify the data centre, its operator, type, location, size category, reporting period and date of entry into operation. It would also set out the facility's energy sourcing breakdown, cooling degree days, grid flexibility status and readiness to reuse waste heat.
It would also show the share of contracted clean energy that contributes new capacity. For this purpose, a data centre would count as contributing new clean energy capacity when it has power purchase agreements with renewable or nuclear plants no older than ten years, or plants substantially refurbished within the past ten years.
Labels would be issued electronically in all official EU languages. Each would remain valid from 15 August in its issue year until 15 August of the following year. Operators would have to provide an electronic version to anyone who asks for it.
The rules would bar operators from making or displaying labels designed to resemble the official EU version. Participation would be voluntary for facilities below 500 kW of installed IT power demand and for data centres that have yet to begin operating.
Facilities serving solely the defence and civil protection of a Member State would be exempt from the reporting requirement.
The Commission's proposal takes the form of a delegated regulation supplementing the recast Energy Efficiency Directive and amending the Commission's 2024 regulation. The European Parliament and the Council of the EU may object to the delegated act within two months of being notified.
Alongside the label proposal, the Commission has opened a 12-week consultation on mandatory minimum efficiency standards for data centres. The consultation began on 21 September and will accept submissions until 14 December.
The Commission plans legislative initiatives on mandatory minimum standards in the second quarter of 2027. It has yet to set out the PUE and WUE thresholds those standards could require. It is also unclear how many facilities will ultimately fall under the labelling obligation, what compliance costs operators may face, and whether smaller voluntary participants will adopt the scheme.
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