The majority of green business leaders are optimistic about the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on decarbonisation efforts, despite the technology’s significant energy requirements.
That is the broad sentiment from a survey of almost 500 sustainability professionals carried out by software giant Salesforce, which found that while close to four-in-10 respondents worry about AI’s potential negative impacts on sustainability, 57 per cent are still optimistic that it can play a positive role in accelerating the green economy.
The survey findings indicate many believe the benefits of AI will outweigh its risks when solving the climate crisis, and that the technology’s impact on global sustainability progress will ultimately be net positive.
It also found that more than 60 per cent of sustainability professionals believe their company must balance AI’s benefits with its environmental costs but remain hopeful about solutions, according to Salesforce.
This is despite some forecasts projecting that AI-driven data centre power usage could double by 2026, which would risk jeopardising efforts to reduce corporate carbon emissions.
Commenting on the survey findings, Boris Gamazaychikov, senior manager of emissions reduction at Salesforce, said: “Investing in innovation and the social impact of AI is crucial for reducing the carbon footprint of AI tools and ensuring the technology benefits everyone equitably.”
“At Salesforce, we employ a comprehensive approach, leveraging our corporate philanthropy, strategic investments, and cutting-edge technology to drive sustainability in AI,” added Gamazaychikov.
The vast energy impact of AI has increasingly fallen under the spotlight as the technology has rapidly gained traction worldwide.
Research from the University of Washington recently found the hundreds of millions of queries logged on Open AI’s ChatGPT platform each day require as much energy to that used by 33,000 US households, while a single GPT query reportedly consumes 15 times more energy than a Google search.
Google, meanwhile, recently revealed its combined Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions increased by 13 per cent to 14.3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2023, primarily due to growing data centre energy consumption driven by demand from new and emerging AI technologies. According to the tech giant’s 2024 Environmental Report, the increase represents a 48 per cent uptick compared to the company’s 2019 emissions.
Against that backdrop, corporate sustainability teams around the world are now grappling with the challenge of helping their companies deploy AI in areas such as supply chain management and ESG reporting while trying to avoid undermining wider efforts to decarbonise the global economy.
But Salesforce said its survey findings indicated that firms may be already managing that balancing act. It found that almost half of respondents have begun using or experimenting with AI in their sustainability programs, with one-in-five fully implementing AI into their green initiatives, and 29 per cent still experimenting.
Half of sustainability teams in the survey already using the technology also said they were doing to so improve energy efficiency by monitoring consumption, predicting when use is high, and optimising distribution. A similar proportion said they were also using AI for emissions modelling or ensuring compliance with environmental standards and regulations, the survey found.
Yet the report warned that biggest barrier to leveraging AI for sustainability efforts is a lack of knowledge, with almost four-in-five sustainability professionals quizzed in the survey flagging educating others on sustainable practices as a priority in their role.
Suzanne DiBianca, EVP and chief impact officer at Salesforce, said it was paramount that firms ensure the benefits of AI are universal to all stakeholders, including the planet, by leveraging AI to develop solutions that reduce environmental impact and using the tech to drive policy advocacy and philanthropic initiatives.
“Sustainability and AI education and training not only narrows the gap between businesses and their climate goals, but also helps create a culture of learning and innovation,” she added.
