atNorth joins Nordic Compass to power up data centre sustainability

atNorth has joined Nordic Compass (The Nordic Round Table for Industry), a new pan-Nordic alliance established to strengthen Nordic and European competitiveness, resilience and industrial innovation.

The data centre leader is eager to build on its sustainability commitments, which include building sovereign and energy-efficient digital infrastructure across the Nordic region. It is already a participant of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact and a member of the European Data Center Association (EUDCA).

“Across atNorth, we see firsthand the increasing convergence of digital infrastructure, energy systems and advanced compute across the Nordics,” said Eva Sóley Guðbjörnsdóttir, CFO & deputy CEO at atNorth. “By working together through Nordic Compass, we can bolster the Nordic’s position in leading sustainable industrial development, helping to accelerate innovation and strengthen regional competitiveness.”

Former Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen chairs Nordic Compass, which brings together leading companies, foundations and organisations from across the region. Its goal is to accelerate coordinated action across important industry sectors, including capital markets, deep tech, defence and energy.

It is expected to present its first set of initiatives at the Nordic Compass Summit in Gothenburg, Sweden, in November 2026.

The initiative comes as Europe accelerates efforts to strengthen technological sovereignty, secure critical infrastructure, and support sustainable industrial growth. At Datacloud Energy Europe in March this year, industry leaders were calling for an “action framework” to bring together government, industry and policy to champion sustainability.

The Nordics has been a leader in this area and is already home to globally leading digital, industrial and energy capabilities – but there are still opportunities for the region to collaborate further across Europe. The goal of Nordic Compass is to unlock this potential by bringing industry leaders together to align on shared priorities and achieve tangible outcomes.

Some of the organisations currently part of Nordic Compass includes Aker ASA, Alfa Laval, Danfoss, Embla Medical, EY, KONE, Nasdaq Nordic, Nordea, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Vattenfall and Ørsted, among others. Through these partnerships, atNorth said it hopes to support the growth of the Nordic digital infrastructure ecosystem as a leading example to global markets.

Currently, atNorth operations span Iceland, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. The company said it is well-positioned to contribute to discussions and initiatives related to AI infrastructure, high-performance computing (HPC), energy optimisation and long-term digital resilience.

The company was purchased by Equinix and CPP Investments in February to support its scaling efforts, as it continues to capture sustainable data centre infrastructure opportunities.

Speaking at the time, EMEA President at Equinix Bruce Owen said: “It is also piloting decarbonisation solutions and collaborating with suppliers to confront emissions usage. The scalable sites of atNorth are very complementary to Equinix’s connectivity services and global footprint. Combined with our joint focus on sustainability, this acquisition is expected to enhance our ability to help customers unlock the full potential of the Nordics’ expanding digital landscape.”

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