Commission adopts energy and water rating scheme for EU data centres over 500 kW

Commission adopts energy and water rating scheme for EU data centres over 500 kW

22 September 2026 — The European Commission announced on 21 September 2026 a common EU rating scheme for data centres, set out in a delegated regulation under the Energy Efficiency Directive. The scheme covers individual data centres with a capacity above 500 kW and aims to make their energy and water use transparent and comparable. The act now faces a two-month scrutiny period in which the European Parliament and the Council can object but cannot change the text; it enters into force only after that.

Not yet independently verified. The act itself is published only as PDF files, which were not opened for this draft. The first-label date of 15 August 2027, the A-to-G grades and the duty to supply the label on request rest on Microgrid Media's reading of the text; the article number could not be checked. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

The Commission's press release says it "proposed" the scheme, while also describing it as a delegated act adopted by the Commission. The act and its annexes, published on the Commission's energy website, carry the reference C(2026) 3472.

What changes

According to the Commission, the rating will cover the actual use of energy and water and a data centre's contribution to the grid, such as reuse of waste heat, added clean generation and flexibility. It builds on the 2024 reporting scheme (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364), under which data centres with significant energy use already report energy and water indicators to a European database. The Commission expects the first sustainability labels to be displayed in 2027 and plans a first review by the end of 2028.

Microgrid Media, reporting on the adopted text, says the first electronic labels are due by 15 August 2027, will be generated automatically from the European database, are valid for one year, and grade power usage effectiveness and water usage effectiveness separately from A to G. It also reports that operators must make their label available electronically to anyone who asks, and that the scheme sets no energy cap or minimum efficiency standard. It describes the threshold as at least 500 kW of IT power; the Commission's release says above 500 kW.

Separately, the Commission opened a call for evidence and public consultation on minimum performance standards for data centres. It closes on 14 December 2026, and the Commission plans to publish a proposal in the second quarter of 2027.

What to do

• Add the label to colocation and cloud due diligence. Once labels exist, ask each provider for the label of every site that hosts your workloads.
• Ask for current figures now. Operators already report energy and water indicators under the 2024 scheme; request those numbers and the reporting year they cover.
• Compare like with like. The Commission says the scheme should make it easier to compare data centres in the same region, so compare sites within a region rather than across climates.
• Write it into contracts. For renewals running past August 2027, consider requiring providers to share each year's label and to tell you if a site's grade falls.
• Respond to the consultation by 14 December 2026 if minimum standards could affect your own facilities or your suppliers.

What the announcement leaves out

The press release does not describe the grading scale, the label's validity or how customers obtain a label. Those points are in the act itself.

Sources

• European Commission press release IP/26/1667 — Commission enhances energy efficiency and sustainability of data centres in the EU — 21 September 2026
• European Commission, DG Energy — Commission Delegated Regulation establishing a common Union rating scheme for data centres and annexes — 21 September 2026
• European Commission, DG Energy — Energy performance of data centres (read 22 September 2026) — 22 September 2026
• Microgrid Media — EU Data Center Rating Scheme Covers Sites Above 500 kW — 21 September 2026