Cloud, AI, and Sustainability: Powering a Greener Future

Enterprises increasingly aim to leverage cloud computing and AI to achieve sustainability goals, particularly in optimizing energy consumption and supply chains. A 2024 MIT Technology Review Insights poll of 250 executives indicates growing investment in these technologies, despite implementation challenges like competing priorities and difficulty in measuring ROI. Industries like energy, manufacturing, and logistics are early adopters, using AI for predictive maintenance, route optimization, and renewable energy integration. However, the energy consumption of AI itself, especially generative AI, poses a paradox, spurring innovation in green data centers and efficient computing architectures. Companies like Infosys are implementing AI-driven monitoring and sustainable data center designs to minimize energy use and help clients meet sustainability targets. While obstacles remain, the report emphasizes that technological advancement and sustainability can mutually reinforce each other.