Uptime Institute’s Jay Dietrich on Why Net Zero Isn’t Enough for Sustainable Data Centers

New DCF Podcast Episode Breaks Down the Real Work Behind Energy and Emissions Metrics

In the latest episode of the Data Center Frontier Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Matt Vincent sits down with Jay Dietrich, Research Director of Sustainability at Uptime Institute, to examine what real sustainability looks like inside the data center — and why popular narratives around net zero, offsets, and carbon neutrality often obscure more than they reveal.

Over the course of a 36-minute conversation, Dietrich walks listeners through Uptime’s expanding role in guiding data center operators toward measurable sustainability outcomes — not just certifications, but operational performance improvements at the facility level.