Beyond Energy Efficiency: Tarun Jami on Why Embodied Carbon Will Define the Next Generation of Sustainable Data Centres

As India’s digital infrastructure expands at unprecedented speed, the sustainability conversation around data centres is evolving beyond operational efficiency. In this exclusive interaction with Deccan Business, Tarun Jami, Founder & CEO of GreenJams, highlights a critical yet often overlooked dimension of climate impact: embodied carbon in construction materials.

While renewable energy and energy-efficient cooling systems have helped reduce operational emissions, Jami points out that the next climate challenge lies upstream in the cement, concrete, and materials used to build these facilities. Through GreenJams’ carbon-negative innovation, Agrocrete, the company is positioning itself at the intersection of climate accountability and scalable construction. In this conversation, Jami explains why Scope 3 emissions deserve urgent attention, how material innovation can lower both carbon footprints and cooling loads, and why sustainable construction will define the next generation of resilient, future-ready data centres.

1. Data centre sustainability discussions have traditionally focused on energy efficiency. Why do you believe embodied carbon at the construction stage now deserves equal attention?

For years, the sustainability focus in data centres has rightly been on operational efficiency—renewable power, efficient cooling, and optimised energy usage. However, as these operational emissions decline, the remaining carbon footprint increasingly shifts upstream into construction materials.

Embodied carbon is also front-loaded—it is generated before the first server is switched on and cannot be reduced later through operational improvements. As electricity grids continue to decarbonise, embodied carbon will represent a larger share of total emissions. That makes construction materials one of the most immediate and actionable levers for reducing the overall climate impact of digital infrastructure.

2. From GreenJams’ perspective, how significant is the contribution of Scope 3 emissions from construction materials in the overall carbon footprint of data centres?

Scope 3 emissions are becoming increasingly significant, especially as data centres shift toward renewable electricity and reduce Scope 2 emissions.

In many cases, Scope 3 emissions account for a large share—often the majority—of a facility’s total carbon footprint. Within this category, construction materials form a major component of the core and shell, alongside IT hardware and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems.

Industry assessments show that while MEP systems carry substantial embodied carbon, civil and structural materials such as cement and concrete still contribute meaningfully. Because these materials are used in such large volumes, they present a major opportunity for emissions reduction.

3. Can you explain how GreenJams’ carbon-negative Agrocrete differs from conventional construction materials used in data centre infrastructure?

Traditional walling materials are highly cement- and clinker-intensive, which makes them inherently carbon-heavy. Agrocrete takes a fundamentally different approach.

It is a carbon-negative bio-concrete where agricultural fibres are mineralised within an alkali-activated mineral matrix. This process permanently locks biogenic carbon into a stone-like structure, turning the building material itself into a carbon store.

Instead of simply reducing emissions compared to conventional materials, Agrocrete is designed to store more carbon than it emits, with verified embodied carbon data while still meeting the structural and durability requirements needed for modern construction.

4. How does Agrocrete help data centre developers reduce embodied carbon without compromising on performance, durability, or scalability?

Agrocrete achieves this by eliminating cement and permanently storing biogenic carbon through mineralisation, while still being engineered for real-world performance.

Its carbon-negative claim is supported by a third-party verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The material has also been tested and evaluated by CSIR-CBRI Roorkee and is already deployed across more than 20 commercial projects in India, with some installations now over five years old. This demonstrates proven durability suitable for mission-critical infrastructure such as data centres.

From a scalability standpoint, Agrocrete is manufactured using industrialised mixing and casting processes similar to modern masonry production. This means developers can adopt it without needing to overhaul existing construction workflows.

5. Thermal management is a major challenge for data centres. How does GreenJams’ material innovation contribute to improved thermal efficiency and reduced cooling loads?

Data centres operate continuously, and heat entering through the building envelope adds directly to the cooling load that HVAC systems must manage.

Agrocrete wall systems provide roughly 3.5 times higher thermal insulation compared to conventional concrete blocks. This reduces heat ingress, helps maintain more stable internal conditions, and lowers peak cooling demand—particularly in hot climates like India.

Even when internal IT loads dominate, every avoided watt of heat gain reduces the burden on cooling systems, fans, and pumps, while improving resilience during extreme heat events or temporary cooling disruptions.

6. What kind of long-term operational energy savings can developers expect when sustainable materials are integrated at the design stage?

The exact savings depend on factors such as climate conditions, envelope design, infiltration rates, and the overall cooling architecture, which is why energy modelling during the design stage is critical.

However, when a high-performance building envelope with improved insulation is combined with right-sized HVAC systems and effective controls, developers can often achieve double-digit reductions in cooling energy under certain operating conditions.

More importantly, these savings are embedded into the design itself. They compound over the entire life cycle of the facility, creating long-term operational benefits without relying solely on ongoing optimisation.

7. As global data centre capacity scales rapidly, how does GreenJams see its role in shaping resilient and future-ready digital infrastructure?

We see our role as enabling the next phase of data centre sustainability—moving beyond efficient operations to low-carbon, verifiable, and resilient construction.

This includes providing lifecycle assessment-backed embodied carbon data that can withstand ESG audits, offering cement-free and carbon-negative material pathways for building envelopes, and helping developers stay ahead of emerging disclosure and trade requirements such as CBAM-aligned supply chains.

Ultimately, the goal is to accelerate the transition from carbon-intensive construction materials to scalable ultra-low-carbon solutions without increasing costs, ensuring that the digital infrastructure of the future is both resilient and climate-responsible.