On Wednesday 23rd September 2026, young professionals and industry experts joined us at CIBSE HQ for our latest CIBSE YEN Technical event.
Hosted by Tom Bull and Jonny Betts, our panel took on one big question: can data centres really be sustainable?
Our Panelists were:
🎤 Shahid Rahman (CDCDP®) MIET, BEng - Strategic Account Lead, EMEA Data Centres, Mitsubishi Electric
🎤 Felix Cox - Associate Director, Data Centres, AECOM
🎤 Iain MacDougall - Director, Head of Sustainability, RED Engineering
🎤 Austin Williamson - Technical Director, Foreman Roberts
It starts with demand
The panel opened by reminding the room that data centres exist because we all use them. Felix pointed out that almost every digital interaction passes through a data centre, making sustainability a wider question about demand, not just design.
The panel also challenged some of the media coverage on water use, which depends on local climate and cooling technology. For AI, the industry is moving towards closed systems with chillers that use far less water.
What makes a data centre sustainable?
Austin highlighted embodied carbon, and the need to look at power and cooling together before settling on a design. Measuring water, power and waste heat once a site is running matters too, with waste heat offering real potential for district heat networks.
Another view was that sustainability is nothing new for engineers. As one panelist put it, “good engineering should, by definition, create a more sustainable world.”
In practice, the standard is often set through planning. The panel felt regulation should be clearer and more streamlined rather than simply stricter, as some current guidance was never written with data centres in mind, and over-regulating risks pushing development abroad. Some newer UK sites are already going further, with biodiversity gain and public open space.
Power and the grid
Asked whether data centres should get priority over housing for grid connections, Felix suggested data centres should aim to support the grid, and Austin described the growth of microgrids and on-site generation, including using backup generators to support the grid at peak times.
The panel also noted that grid reinforcement requested by data centre developers often releases more capacity than the site needs, which can benefit new housing too.
Skills and the next five years
Looking ahead, Iain raised the sector’s ageing workforce and the skills gap this will leave. Felix reflected on how much systems have changed in just three years, with designs now built for flexibility as cooling technology and rack densities keep evolving.
Asked why the sector struggles to recruit when many young people are looking for work, the panel discussed how AI is changing entry-level roles and the importance of a strong engineering foundation. The message to the room was that this is a fast-moving sector that needs new talent.
Thank you
A huge thank you to our speakers Shahid Rahman, Felix Cox, Iain MacDougall and Austin Williamson for sharing their insights, to Mitsubishi Electric for sponsoring the event, and to our hosts Tom Bull and Jonny Betts for putting together a brilliant evening.
Thank you to everyone who joined us at CIBSE HQ, and we hope to see you at the next one.
You can see photos and more from the evening in our LinkedIn Post.