Sustainability by Design
Cato has been designed with sustainability at its heart, not as an afterthought.
Here is what we believe a green data centre needs to do, and how that thinking is built into the Cato project.
Net-positive to Scotland’s energy system
Renewable energy generation is only one side of the equation. Renewable energy projects are best located where the energy is most efficiently produced. For its part, a green data centre provides large, stable demand exactly where it is needed. Locating that demand here in Scotland improves how the power system works as a whole: it reduces curtailment costs (where renewables are paid to stop generating), makes better use of the grid investment, and supports a faster, lower-cost path to net-zero.
Light on natural resources
Designed for low water use from the outset. Highly efficient cooling, rainwater harvesting, and the reuse of process water are part of the design. The Scottish climate plays its own part too: lower ambient air temperatures mean a much greater share of cooling can come from outside air, with no additional energy, and no additional water.
Generous to its surroundings
Surplus heat designed to be put to beneficial use for local homes, businesses, public buildings, or farming. Land left richer in nature than we found it, with measurable biodiversity gain and a built form follows the natural topography, so the development sits within the landscape rather than dominating the skyline.
Anchored in community
Real, durable benefit to the local community: skills, jobs, apprenticeships, and a community benefit fund shaped with the community, not imposed on it, with a particular focus on people affected by the recent closure of the ExxonMobil plant at Mossmorran.
Open and Accessible
Throughout the pre-planning process we visited peoples’ homes, attended Community Council meetings, and spoke to the press. The questions people asked shaped the proposals you see today. Our environmental assessments are published on the Planning Portal website. We have operated in Scotland for twenty years, building on our reputation with each development that is successfully delivered. Every commitment in this application is either embedded in the design or will be secured through a legally binding planning agreement.
