The European Community takes steps toward improving energy efficiency because it helps the community meet its three main goals in its energy policy: supply, competitiveness and protecting the environment. The European Community has several initiatives supporting the meeting of its energy policy goals and compelling EU and its Member States to put a high priority on energy efficiency:
- Energy Intelligent Europe Initiative [doc file]: Contains a call for Europe to become more energy efficient. It begins with, "We, the signatories, members of the European Parliament, call on the European institutions for co-ordinated action to make Europe’s economy the most energy intelligent in the world."
- It will be mandatory for over 5000 British companies to make a carbon reduction commitment. They will publish league tables and reward or fine companies depending on their progress in reducing carbon emissions.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) Renewable Energy Unit oversees the designing, implementing and monitoring EU energy efficiency policies and programs in helping Europe become an energy efficient economy. The JRC partners with organizations, research labs and universities to provide advice and expertise in the field of energy efficiency.
A study by Digital Realty Trust reports that 60 percent European companies have green data center plans and 70 percent say they will require vendors to have a green program in place.
Also the EU Stand-by Initiative has published drafts of a code of conduct, best practices and data collection proposal and form for data centers in support of Europe's energy improvement efforts for electronics. Best practices address cooling, powering data center equipment, layouts of data centers, the managing of data centers, and the monitoring of energy efficiency.