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Putting the AI in Sustainability
Putting the AI in Sustainability
Whether it's assisting with the reporting workload or combing through data to outline energy efficiency opportunities, businesses are turning to AI, despite its environmental impact, to streamline procedures. Our survey of 130 sustainability professionals uncovers the attitudes and applications of AI in sustainability.
A recent McKinsey study estimates that AI’s long-term potential could reach $4.4trn in added productivity growth from corporate applications, with businesses looking to save time and resources on tasks that can be automated.
The same study also found that 92% of companies plan to increase AI investments over the next three years. It is clear that AI adoption is accelerating.
Sustainability professionals and teams are notoriously time poor – the tasks and admin keep mounting, yet the resources to respond do not grow in tandem. Indeed, edie’s Business Tracker survey found that only 24% of businesses are planning on expanding the in-house sustainability team in 2025, and with previous edie survey’s revealing that the average size of said teams is between 1-4 people, any assistance is welcome.
AI has the potential to drastically reduce the administrative workload for sustainability professionals, but it comes with ethical and environmental caveats.
However, as AI expands, so does its environmental footprint. A study from Cornell University last year found that generative AI could consume up to 33 times more energy than traditional task-specific software.
There is a real push-pull dynamic when it comes to AI in sustainability; it could free up time and provide insights for teams, but many within the profession are wary of the technology’s climate impacts. A 2024 Salesforce survey of 452 sustainability professionals—including 384 leaders—across companies in the US, UK and Canada reveals a mixed outlook on AI’s role in sustainability. While nearly 40% worry it could hinder progress, 58% believe its benefits will outweigh the risks in addressing the climate crisis.
With regards to edie’s audience, our survey revealed that only 29% are currently using AI to help deliver their sustainability agenda, despite the fact that 51% of businesses plan to invest in AI (not limited to the sustainability function) in the next 18 months.
There are major concerns from sustainability professionals as to the ethics, regulation and energy demand of the AI sector as it stands. edie’s survey found that while 76% do believe that AI can make the sustainability role much easier, only 6% believe that the AI industry is ethical, with 92% believing it needs to be better regulated.
Q. To what extend do you agree or disagree with the following statements about AI in ESG?
While much has been made of the sector’s energy and water demand, ethics and regulation are the primary concerns about the AI sector as a whole.
Major tech players—including Salesforce, Capgemini, Lenovo, IBM, and Nvidia—have joined the Coalition for Sustainable AI, a global initiative launched at the AI Action Summit in Paris in February 2025. This coalition aims to ensure that AI development, from hardware to software, aligns with environmental sustainability goals.
When we asked our audience whether AI could ever be 1.5C aligned, 20% believed it could not, while more than one-third (37%) believed it could align with global climate goals. The fact that 43% remained neutral on this question highlights the uncertainty around AI use at the moment.
For AI applications, data and reporting was cited by 69% of respondents as the area of a sustainability professional’s remit where AI could have the biggest impact. Energy efficiency measures came second, followed by supply chain management and resource efficiency.
While sustainability professionals are worried about the ethics of the sector, the energy-intensive nature of AI is a major concern in terms of in-house applications. One-third (31%) of sustainability professionals listed “energy and resource intensiveness” as their major concern, followed by “data quality and accuracy” (27%) and lack of transparency and regulation (24%).
Sustainability professionals would also like to see their organisation be more transparent when it comes to AI usage. When asked if businesses should report their use and subsequent environmental impact of AI applications, 82% answered yes!
When asked if businesses should report their use and subsequent environmental impact of AI applications, 82% answered yes!
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