GRI Index & Results

• 27 metros in the Americas (USA, Canada, Colombia, Brazil and Mexico)
• 27 metros across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) (Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK and UAE) and;
• 13 metros in Asia-Pacific (Australia, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea)

Total number of employees/workers by type and by gender:

• Regular employees: 7,870 Men employees; 2,685 Women employees; and 57 employees declined to ID
• Fixed-term employees: 280 Men employees; 145 Women employees; and 3 employees declined to ID
• Contingent workers: 137 Men workers; 46 Women workers; and 4,843 workers declined to ID (no data available)

Total number of employees by employment by type and by region:

• Americas: 5,011 regular employees and 95 fixed-term employees
• Asia-Pacific: 2,154 regular employees and 149 fixed-term employees
• EMEA: 3,447 regular employees and 184 fixed-term employees

Total number of regular employees by employment type and by gender:

• Full-time employees: 7,829 Men employees; 2,621 Women employees; and 57 employees declined to ID
• Part-time employees: 41 Men employees and 64 Women employees

Total number of regular employees by exempt and non-exempt status:

• Exempt: 7,377 employees globally; 3,567 employees in AMER; 1,485 employees in APAC; 2,325 employees in EMEA
• Non-Exempt: 3,235 employees globally; 1,444 employees in AMER; 669 employees in APAC; 1,122 employees in EMEA

Trade Organizations 

• Asia Cloud Computing Association 
• Data Center Coalition (DCC)  
• Dutch Data Centre Association 
• European Data Centre Association (EUDCA)  
• France Datacenter 
• German Datacenter Association
• Host in Ireland 
• Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
• National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit)  
• Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) 
• TechUK (United Kingdom) 
• US India Business Council  
• US Colombia Business Council  

Delegating authority

Executive-level responsibility for economic, environmental, and social topics

Consulting stakeholders on economic, environmental, and social topics

Effectiveness of risk management processes Review of economic, environmental, and social topics

Highest governance body’s role in sustainability reporting

In 2021, Equinix combined its Nominating Committee and its Governance Committee into a single Nominating and Governance Committee which is made up solely of independent directors. The Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for ESG oversight at Equinix and regularly reviews strategies, policies, practices, performance and reporting related to corporate environment, social and governance matters.

Responsibilities of our Sustainability Executive Steering Committee and Sustainability Program Office (SPO) include: (i) setting corporate sustainability strategy and policy, (ii) monitoring and tracking Equinix’s progress, and (iii) transparently communicating our efforts externally to enhance our reputation and lead our industry. 

The sustainability program contains three program tracks (or pillars). In 2021, each pillar was led by at least one member of the executive team (these members comprise the Executive Steering Committee which includes our CEO, CFO, CHRO/CLO, and EVP, Global Operations) who are responsible for delegating ESG topics to other senior executives and employees.

Day-to-day the sustainability in 2021 was led by a global program director and executed by a Working Team that consists of ~30 global and regional leads. The Working Team meets periodically, the Steering Committee meets 2-4x annually, and the program director with support of the Working Team has access to the CEO and Board of Directors Nominating and Governance Committee quarterly as needed.

Consultation with stakeholders is led by the working team and Equinix’s materiality assessment (last updated in the fall of 2020) engaged a variety of stakeholders who provided their feedback on Equinix’s ESG programs and goals.

Equinix’s Investor Relations (IR) team also met with numerous investors around the world by attending or hosting over 30 investor conferences, non-deal roadshows, and investor group events. Certain investors also requested engagement meetings to discuss topics related to our corporate governance model, ESG issues or our executive compensation program. Additionally, Equinix’s IR team proactively reached out for meetings with our 25 largest stockholders in the fall of 2021 to discuss these topics and solicit feedback.

Equinix’s corporate governance structure can be found on Equinix’s Investor Relations website under Corporate Governance. Additional details are available in our 2022 Proxy Statement.

In Asia-Pacific, Equinix employees are not covered by collective bargaining or labor unions. However, in Japan, China and Korea, for any change in benefit or employment terms, Equinix will have to go through employee consultation process and get their consent. 

In EMEA, France, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Finland and Sweden have formal works councils or representative employee bodies. France has collective bargaining in place with the current scope applying to 65% of employees.

Evaluation of the management approach

Evaluation of the management approach

Our Community Impact program promotes connection and belonging, and enables employees to give back, with the support of Equinix, to the communities in which we work and live. In total, our Community Impact efforts in 2021 resulted in approximately $2.05 million in employee donations, corporate matching and grants, and more than 16,500 volunteer hours, to approximately 2,200 nonprofits worldwide.

Evaluation of the management approach

In 2021, Equinix had no verified violations of applicable anti-bribery and corruption laws.

Evaluation of the management approach

• Americas: 3,030 GWh (42%, +14% YOY)
• Asia-Pacific: 1,490 GWh (21%, +8% YOY)
• EMEA: 2,680 GWh (37%, +10% YOY)

Note: Scope 2 includes consumption from electric power, fuel cells operated under power purchase agreements and chilled water. These values were assured to Limited Assurance ISO 14064-3 Requirements.

Renewable Energy Consumption: Total renewable energy consumption in 2021 was 6,770 GWh (+16% YOY)

• Americas: 2,980 GWh (+22% YOY)
• Asia-Pacific: 1,120 GWh (+10% YOY)
• EMEA: 2,670 GWh (+12% YOY)

• 2021: 1.084 GWh electricity per million USD (change of +1% YOY
• 2020: 1.077 GWh electricity per million USD (change of +5% YOY)
• 2019: 1.028 GWh electricity per million USD (change of +1% YOY)

Note: includes electric power and chilled water for all years. Equinix’s energy intensity is driven both by site efficiency as well as how we generate revenue around the world.

Energy intensity as measured by electricity consumption (GWh) per data center floor area (gross sq. ft) was:

• 2021: 263 GWh electricity per sq. ft
• 2020: 258 GWh electricity per sq. ft
• 2019: 243 GWh electricity per sq. ft

Note: includes electric power and chilled water for all years. Equinix’s energy intensity is driven both by site efficiency as well as how we generate revenue around the world.

Evaluation of the management approach

• 2021: 50,700 mtCO2e
• 2020: 55,100 mtCO2e
• 2019: 40,700 mtCO2e

The primary drivers for the decrease in Scope 1 emissions include the shutdown of the on-site natural gas-based cogeneration facility at MX1 and an overall reduction in refrigerant leakages due to focused efforts across our operations.

• 2021: 2,307,600 mtCO2e ( +1%)
• 2020: 2,280,200 mtCO2e (+10%) 
• 2019: 2,079,000 mtCO2e (+9%)

The regional breakdown in 2021 was: 38% AMER (881,100 mtCO2e); 34% APAC (786,200 mtCO2e); 28% EMEA (640,300 mtCO2e).

Scope 2 Market-based GHG emissions (electricity + chilled water) including contribution of renewable energy purchasing, with YOY trend:

• 2021: 254,800 mtCO2e (-22%)
• 2020: 327,700 mtCO2e (+7%) 
• 2019: 306,000 mtCO2e (+36%) – driven by acquisitions

The regional breakdown in 2021 was: 3% AMER (8,200 mtCO2e); 96% APAC (245,100 mtCO2e); 1% EMEA (1,500 mtCO2e). Market-based methodologies take into account Equinix’s large renewable energy purchases, which allow us to use a 0 mtCO2e/MWh emissions factor (or net zero emissions from electricity).

• Capital Goods
• Purchased Goods & Services
• FERA – Upstream Electricity (Market-Based)*
• Business travel (Air, Hotel, Rail, Rental Car)
• Employee commuting (Employee commuting to office, work from home associate with COVID-19 Pandemic)
• Waste

Scope 3 totals** were:

• 2021 = 1,504,000 mtCO2e
• 2020 = 1,318,000 mtCO2e
• 2019 = 1,311,000 mtCO2e

*For 2019 and 2020, Equinix has reported FERA Location-Based emissions but has elected to report FERA Market-Based emissions moving forward as it better reflects Equinix operations.

** The 2019 and 2020 Scope 3 totals have been adjusted to reflect FERA Market-Based emissions

• 2021: 46 mtCO2e per million USD (change of -28% YOY)
• 2020: 64 mtCO2e per million USD (change of +2% YOY)
• 2019: 62 mtCO2e per million USD (change of +16% YOY)

Carbon intensity is driven both by our supplier-based emissions factors and our purchases of low-carbon and renewable energy, as well as how we generate revenue around the world. The trend of intensity increasing in 2020 was driven by organic growth in regions without renewable energy (e.g. Australia).

• Americas: 2,980 GWh out of 2,986 GWh (100%)
• Asia-Pacific: 1,119 GWh out of 1,474 GWh (76%)
• EMEA: 2,674 GWh out of 2,675 GWh (100%)
• Global: 6,773 GWh out of 7,136 GWh (95%)

Specifically, Renewable Energy purchases reduce Scope 2 GHG emissions (from location-based to market-based):

• 2021: 2,052,800 mtCO2e reduction (2,307,600 reduced to 254,800 mtCO2e)
• 2020: 1,952,500 mtCO2e reduction (2,280,200 reduced to 327,700 mtCO2e)
• 2019: 1,773,000 mtCO2e reduction (2,079,000 reduced to 306,000 mtCO2e)

(Note: Scope 2 includes electric power, fuel cells under power purchase agreement, and chilled water)

Evaluation of the management approach

• 2021: 1,751 (17%)
• 2020: 1,803 (20%)
• 2019: 1,666 (20%)
• 2018: 1,243 (17%)

Note: numbers depict how many people were hired during the year both for newly created positions and for positions that became vacant as a result of employee attrition. Employees added as a result of acquisitions are not included. New Hire rate = # of new hires / average annual head count.

Employee turnover rate:

• 2021: 10%
• 2020: 7%
• 2019: 13%
• 2018: 12%

Represents how many employees left the organization voluntarily (includes retirement and death) as well as involuntarily (due to dismissal, misconduct, job performance, etc.).

• 2021: Of 147 employees who took leave in 2020, 99% were still at Equinix in 2021 (100% of men, 96% of women)
• 2020: Of 109 employees who took leave in 2019, 90% were still at Equinix in 2020 (90% of men, 92% of women)
• 2019: Of 61 employees who took leave in 2018, 93% were still at Equinix in 2019 (100% of men, 83% of women)
• 2018: Of 82 employees who took leave in 2017, 79% were still at Equinix in 2018 (85% of men, 73% of women)

• In Q1 of 2021, 81% of employees completed the survey.
• In Q2 of 2021, 78% of employees completed the survey.
• In Q3 of 2021, 79% of employees completed the survey.
• In Q4 of 2021, 79% of employees completed the survey.

When averaged across the quarters, the response rate was 79%.

Evaluation of the management approach

• No fatalities as a result of work-related injury;
• 0% high consequence work-related injury rate; and
• A recordable work-related injury rate of 0.31 globally per 200,000 hours worked.

Equinix previously reported its absentee rate and lost day rates for the U.S. and Canada, but it is not a recommended disclosure in the new version of the GRI Standards: GRI 403: Occupational Health and Safety 2018. To request this information, please contact [email protected].

Evaluation of the management approach

Equinix also has robust training programs covering our global policies and procedures. These are mandatory courses assigned to all employees, and are available in multiple languages. Examples include: Global Code of Business Conduct; Anti-Bribery and Corruption; Preventing Workplace Harassment (in U.S. and Asia-Pacific); Security Awareness and Responsibility; Business Continuity Training; and an introduction to REITs. Training and resources are also provided through external channels such as function-specific conferences and function-specific trainings such as Tableau training.

Equinix also offers tuition reimbursement for academic programs, which contributes to overall employee development.

In 2021, Equinix averaged $722 in training costs per FTE.

Evaluation of the management approach

• Board of Directors: 6 Men: 3 Women (67%; 33%)
• E-staff members: 9 Men: 1 Woman (90%; 10%)

The 2021 composition of Equinix’s employees was as follows:

• Regional FTEs: Americas (5,011), Asia-Pacific (2,154), EMEA (3,447), TOTAL (10,612)*
• Regional Breakdown: Americas (47%), Asia-Pacific (20%), EMEA (32%)
• Gender Diversity: Women (25.3%), Men (74.2%), Decline to ID (0.5%)
• Race/Ethnic Diversity (U.S. only): Black/African American (6.3%), Hispanic/Latinx (13.2%), Asian (24.7%), White (47.1%), Other (4.6%), Decline to ID (4.1%) 
• Age Diversity: Gen Z (1999–2012) (0.30%), Millennials (1982–1999) (48.4%), Gen X (1965–1981) (43.8%), Baby Boomers (1946–1964) (7.3%), Decline to ID (0.2%)
• Age Diversity: Under 30 (13%), 30–50 (66.1%), Over 50 (20.7%), Decline to ID (0.2%)
• Skills Diversity: General & Administrative (26%), Sales & Marketing (16.4%), Operations (43.1%), Technology (14.3%)

Representation of Women in 2021 by level, globally:

• Representation of women at VP and above levels were at 30.6%
• Representation of women at Manager and above levels were at 27.9%
• Representation of women below Manager levels were at 24%

Representation of Women in 2021 in technology roles, globally:

• Representation of women in technology roles were at 41.3%, up 3% from 2020

Representation at each level by Race/Ethnicity (for the U.S. only):

• At VP level and above: Black/African American (2.9%), Hispanic/Latinx (4.9%), Asian (16.5%), White (71.8%), Other (1.0%), Decline to ID (2.9%)
• At Manager level and above: Black/African American (3.1%), Hispanic/Latinx (6%), Asian (29.1%), White (53.8%), Other (3.7%), Decline to ID (4.4%)
• At levels below Manager: Black/African American (9.4%), Hispanic/Latinx (19.8%), Asian (20.6%), White (40.9%), Other (5.5%), Decline to ID (3.9%)

See Commitment to Pay Equity for additional information.


* Regional FTE numbers may differ between the 10-K and Sustainability Report due to reporting boundaries.

Evaluation of the management approach

In 2021, Equinix had 0 verified incidents of discrimination.

Evaluation of the management approach

Listening – We listen through voice-of-the-customer programs that aggregate feedback from a variety of sources, including outbound surveys, events and focus groups, passive forms/surveys, online feedback buttons and employee collected forms.

Analyzing the Data – We measure feedback from customers’ experiences during value moments and by collecting data on how they feel about our overall relationship. Learnings from the analysis inform our strategy and shape our customer improvement initiatives and focus areas.

Taking Action – As we prioritize, implement and track customer improvements across the company, our goal is to ensure our actions are delivering value and positively impacting our customers’ experience.

Sharing Progress – Finally, we recognize that customer improvements aren’t meaningful if no one knows about them. We follow up with customers so they know their voice is being heard and to demonstrate how their feedback makes a difference in how they can expect to do business with us.

Evaluation of the management approach

Evaluation of the management approach