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Sustainability execs grapple with AI dilemma, survey finds

Almost 60 percent believe AI's benefits will outweigh the climate risks. Read More

57 percent of sustainability professionals surveyed by Salesforce believe AI’s benefits outweigh the environmental risks. Source: Salesforce

There’s a direct correlation between the rise of artificial intelligence and rising carbon footprints for giant technology companies Amazon, Google and Microsoft

It’s hardly surprising, then, that nearly 4 in 10 corporate sustainability professionals worry AI will have a negative impact on their own emissions reduction plans, according to a new Salesforce survey. Nearly one-third of the respondents said cutting emissions related to AI applications should be a priority. 

Efficiency and insights outweigh environmental concerns

Regardless of that concern, 58 percent of the 452 survey respondents believe AI’s benefits outweigh the environmental risks and almost half said they are using AI to support their strategies for reducing emissions, managing water and waste, or other sustainability challenges. Twenty percent say they’ve fully implemented a project, while 29 percent are experimenting.

Here are the top three applications being embraced by the survey respondents:

  • Improve energy efficiency, through measures such as usage monitoring or predictions about potential peak demand periods.
  • Model carbon emissions, to help teams identify priorities or to assess places in a product’s life cycle where action might be most effective.
  • Comply with ESG disclosure regulations, but automating data collection and analysis.

Among the respondents already using AI, 65 percent suggest that this technology has already transformed their sustainability initiatives.

The biggest limiting factor is lack of knowledge about how AI might be used, the survey found. “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,” said Suzanne DiBianca, executive vice president and chief impact officer for Salesforce.

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