ERM at the Data Center World

ERM at the conference Hide

ERM will have two presentations at the Data Center World 2024 Conference–the only global industry event that combines real world, practitioner and thought leader expertise with in-depth research and data, and access to a full spectrum of solution providers driving the data center and digital infrastructure industry forward.

17 April 2024

Building Environmentally and Socially Responsible Data Centers of the Future

Time:

1:30 pm - 2:20 pm

Location:

Room 207A

In this presentation, Erik Ipsen and Carly Sibilia will explore the interplay of risk and opportunity on new data centers and other technology infrastructure developments in community acceptance, ecological/biodiversity, and climate change through the lens of corporate real estate, environmental, and community affairs.

Understanding Public Perception and Managing Social Risks

Time:

2:35 pm - 3:30 pm

Location:

Room 207A

In this presentation, Zoë Mullard and Frank Rizzo will share our social and human capital resilience-building framework that prioritizes social risk and opportunity assessment and management. This framework supports technology firms and companies in other sectors in making go/no-go decisions, consulting with communities, and earning mutual trust to build projects on time and within budget.

ERM Speakers Hide

Erik Ipsen, PE

Senior Partner

Erik has 27 years of professional experience in environmental consulting delivering projects in North and South America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. His practice is focused on aiding technology companies sustainably develop capital projects while meeting the needs of their business, the communities in which they operate, and the environment. He has worked extensively in the technology sector, scoping and delivering environmental, safety, social, and sustainability programs for data centers, corporate campuses, satellite ground stations, and research and development (R&D) facilities. Erik advises some of the world’s largest data center developers with their most pressing social and environmental challenges and has designed, executed, and optimized site due diligence programs for hyperscale development across the US and beyond. Through his work engaging with broad stakeholder teams – from design to permitting to construction and operation - Erik has gained a keen understanding of the sector's challenges and opportunities.

Zoë Mullard

Associate Partner

Zoë has 13 years of experience in social performance including, stakeholder and Indigenous engagement, socio-economic and land use risk and impact assessments, auditing, and social management planning. Zoe understands the complexities for data center developers to build and maintain relationships with host communities and has worked with companies to design fit-to-purpose strategies that establish trust and reduce business risks. Zoë has been supporting tech sector clients to understand social risks and prepare social management and engagement plans for data centers in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Frank Rizzo

Partner

Frank is part of ERM's Strategic Communications & Stakeholder Engagement team. He leads client work on community affairs, stakeholder engagement, government relations, environmental justice issues, and mitigating opposition to capital projects and land development. Frank has over 20 years of experience developing and managing stakeholder engagement and community outreach programs for controversial land development projects for various industries across the county. He has led comprehensive social due diligence programs for data center siting projects in four states for some of the largest technology companies in the world. In addition to his work on data centers, Frank has worked on renewable energy projects, power transmission lines, traditional energy infrastructure, and computer chip manufacturing plants.

Carly Sibilia

Technical Managing Consultant, Nature

As an emerging voice and thought leader in the evolving corporate biodiversity marketplace, Carly leverages nearly a decade of habitat and wildlife management and scientific research to elevate her clients’ risk mitigation and access to opportunity at the intersection of biodiversity and business. Carly is a leading technical consultant for nature-positive business at ERM, and she supports clients across sectors in their efforts to identify and evaluate their impacts on nature. Carly does this by leveraging climate strategies and other innovative market drivers to promote and implement biodiversity conservation and nature-based solutions from the corporate to the project level.

Data Center World 2024