The short answer
A number should travel with its unit, boundary, period, status, source, and update date. A reader should be able to tell a plan from an observed result and a company statement from an independently verified finding.
Read the evidence label
These labels answer different questions and can coexist. A measured value can be company-reported; a model can be independently reviewed without becoming a measured operating result.
| Label | What it means—and what to look for |
|---|---|
| Measured | Observed with instruments or records. Ask where the meter sits, what it covers, and whether data is missing. |
| Modeled | Calculated from assumptions. Look for load, weather, methods, uncertainty, and the scenario being evaluated. |
| Company-reported | Provided by the company. This describes its origin, not an independent assurance conclusion. |
| Independently verified | An independent party has checked the specified claim against stated criteria. Look for the verifier, scope, method, period, limitations, and conclusion. Independent review alone does not establish verification. |
Project status matters just as much
A proposed system, a signed commitment, equipment under construction, and an operating installation are different states. Reporting should identify the state that applies on the stated date.
An executed contract can establish an obligation. It does not, by itself, demonstrate delivered performance. A modeled water estimate remains an estimate until supported by operating evidence.
An example of a clear reporting boundary
Illustration only—not a TDC result: “Cooling water supplied to Building A, from January through December, measured at the cooling-system supply meter; excludes offices and water used to produce purchased electricity; source: meter records; reported by the company; independent verification: not stated.”
That description gives a future value a meaningful boundary. “Water use is low” does not. A whole-campus comparison would need a different scope and comparable periods.
What the common numbers tell you
| Measure | How to read it |
|---|---|
| MW / MWh | Megawatts describe power at a point in time or capacity; megawatt-hours describe energy over a period. Capacity is not annual consumption. |
| PUE | Total facility energy divided by IT equipment energy. It describes facility overhead, not the usefulness of the computing work or its carbon footprint. |
| WUE | Water use relative to IT energy, commonly liters per kWh. Specify the water boundary and report absolute volume alongside the ratio. |
What readers should be able to establish
- What is included, and what is excluded?
- What period and operating conditions does the statement cover?
- What source supports it, and can its provenance be traced?
- Who is responsible for the result or commitment?
- What is unknown, and what changed since the previous version?
Reporting principles and published results
This guide explains our reporting approach. It is not a campus performance report, a live environmental dashboard, or a third-party assurance statement. Project-specific results require project-specific evidence.
Where a material claim changes, our approach calls for the revised information to retain its date, reason, and history. If an answer is not yet supported, it should remain identified as unknown rather than presented as a result.
Have a question about a statement on this site? Send us the page and the specific claim so the question can be addressed in context.
A question about a project?
Tell us which location or statement you’re asking about. Specific questions deserve specific evidence.
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