In this episode, host Charlotte Buffoni (Inogen Alliance Leadership Team / Antea Group UK) is joined by Alessandro Intile (HPC Italy) and Julie Kreger-King (Antea Group USA) to explore the rapid global growth of data centers and the evolving environmental, health and safety (EHS) challenges that come with it. The discussion highlights how surging demand, driven by cloud computing, AI, and digitalisation, is outpacing supply, creating new risks and complexities across development, construction, and operations.
Episode 4 of Rethinking EHS, Season 3 focuses on the fast-growing data center sector and the need to balance speed, innovation, and sustainability.
The episode explores how global demand for digital infrastructure is accelerating rapidly, driven by cloud adoption, AI, and increasing digital consumption, while physical constraints such as power, space, and water are shaping where and how data centres are developed. Emerging hubs like Milan are gaining prominence as traditional markets reach capacity, supported by evolving regulatory frameworks that are beginning to recognise data centers as strategic infrastructure.
Looking ahead, the industry’s future will depend on improving safety maturity, strengthening collaboration across the supply chain, and ensuring data centers are developed as responsible “neighbours” that minimise environmental impact. Ultimately, global collaboration, combined with local knowledge, will be key to scaling the sector sustainably and building a more resilient digital infrastructure.
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Guest quotes:
Julie Kreger-King:
“There’s a real tension between the need for speed and the need to put strong systems and processes in place.”
Alessandro Intile:
“We are not building warehouses or chemical plants—we are exactly in the middle, with risks that must be carefully managed.”
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 – Introduction & data centre growth overview
00:01:10 – What’s driving global demand (cloud, AI, digitalisation)
00:02:31 – Emerging hubs and regulatory developments in Europe
00:04:25 – Regulatory differences between regions
00:05:51 – Why data centres are a critical EHS focus area
00:08:08 – Safety maturity across the sector
00:10:10 – Balancing speed vs systems and processes
00:12:21 – Technology evolution and new risk factors
00:14:03 – Supply chain and quality challenges
00:16:06 – Brownfield development and environmental risks
00:20:13 – Overlooked risks: noise, fuel storage, permitting
00:22:35 – Achieving global consistency vs local requirements
00:28:24 – Advice for EHS professionals entering the sector
00:32:31 – Future ESG priorities and industry maturity
00:36:03 – The role of global collaboration
00:38:01 – Closing reflections
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Sponsor Copy
Rethinking EHS is brought to you by the Inogen Alliance. Inogen Alliance is a global network of 70+ companies providing environment, health, safety, and sustainability services, working together to provide one point of contact to guide multinational organizations to meet their global commitments locally.
Visit inogenalliance.com to learn more.
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Links
https://Inogenalliance.com/resources
https://Inogenalliance.com/podcast
Julie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-kreger-king/
Charlotte on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-buffoni-a42b9629/
Alessandro on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alessandro-intile-5730a2124/?skipRedirect=true
Produced by https://madcontent.co.nz/