With AI adoption accelerating across the globe, businesses are facing a growing challenge: how to scale innovation without exhausting the planet’s resources. As demand for energy, water and raw materials is rising, sustainability risks slipping off the agenda; despite it being more critical than ever.
Now, businesses are racing to keep up, and urgent questions are emerging about how organisations can balance growth with long-term environmental responsibility. For Earth Day, we spoke with seven industry leaders to find the answers.
Growth at a cost
From data centres to supply chains, as AI consumption continues to grow, the pressure of such rapid expansion is becoming increasingly visible.
Taran Rai, Corporate Sustainability Manager at Epson UK, explains: “At Epson, we see first-hand how the rapid expansion of AI and data infrastructure is reshaping industrial priorities with a shift towards mass-consumption. While innovation is essential, it also brings increased demand for energy, water and finite raw materials.”
Nowhere can this trend be felt more than in the data centre industry. As AI workloads scale, so too does the demand for high-performance computing. In fact, due to AI growth, data centre electricity consumption is projected to double by 2030, which conflicts with environmental consciousness.
Terry Storrar, Managing Director at Leaseweb UK highlights: “There is huge customer demand for infrastructure that will provide and support increasingly high-power densities. With AI workloads relying heavily on GPUs and advanced computing architectures requiring large volumes of reliable, tightly controlled power, demand for high-performance compute capacity has skyrocketed. Together this poses an immense challenge for operators: how to deliver this next generation of infrastructure without placing unsustainable strain on energy resources or the grid.”
These issues aren’t limited to data centres. Other sectors are facing similar challenges; for example, the EV market, where infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with adoption. Theo Brillhart, Technology Director, R&D at Fluke Corporation, notes: “The UK was the biggest EV market in Europe in 2024, and adoption is still rising. The momentum is clear, yet at the moment, this cleaner energy option is lagging behind demand. EV charging reliability is not where it needs to be to support the growing number of consumers who are keen to invest in an EV.
Saskia van Gendt, Chief Sustainability Officer at Blue Yonder, adds that many of these challenges stem from how supply chains are structured: “Global supply chains are built for scale, not sustainability, but that model is increasingly at odds with regulatory, environmental and commercial priorities. Overproduction remains a growing and costly challenge for businesses, leading to unsold inventory, markdowns and waste.”
Responding with efficiency and innovation
So, what can be done about this? With regulatory pressures growing, deprioritising sustainability is not a viable option. As a result, businesses are reviewing how they can achieve meaningful environmental change through the use of technology.
Mark Skelton, Chief Technology Officer at Node4, believes: “AI and sustainability are not and do not have to be opposing forces. If anything, they should evolve together. The rapid expansion of compute capacity, data centres and digital infrastructure brings real environmental implications. Without clear guardrails and coordinated oversight, we risk solving one productivity challenge while creating a long-term energy problem.”
While AI is exacerbating the problem, it is also central to the solution. In retail, for example, AI-enabled systems are helping organisations reduce waste and optimise fulfilment. Abdelkader Keddari, VP Global Strategic Solutions at Fluent Commerce, states: “In many cases, technology becomes the key enabler to reconcile these competing priorities, especially when it is designed to drive smarter, real-time decision-making across the entire order lifecycle.”
He adds: “The system can automatically select the most appropriate fulfilment location based on proximity, reducing transport distances and emissions. It can also encourage customers to accept slightly longer delivery times in exchange for consolidated shipments from a single warehouse, helping to avoid split deliveries.”
Similarly, across data centres, innovation is improving efficiency; from advanced cooling technologies to AI-driven monitoring tools that optimise energy use.
“Innovation is happening across the entire data centre stack”, says Leaseweb’s Storrar. “From heavy investments in new cooling technologies, such as liquid, direct-to-chip systems and fully liquid-cooled racks, to advanced analytics and AI-driven monitoring tools, there is no shortage of new inventions across the industry to optimise energy consumption and improve operational efficiency.”
Embedding sustainability into everyday decisions
Whilst upgrading systems is important in reducing environmental impact, the other side of the equation is cultural. Embedding the right mindset within organisations will ensure sustainable thinking is incorporated into everyday operations.
Hugh Scantlebury, CEO and Founder of Aqilla, says: “When sustainability becomes part of everyday thinking – across procurement, operations, and finance – it stops being a one-off initiative and becomes part of how the organisation operates. And when that mindset is culturally embedded, it’s far less likely to slip down the priority list when new trends or technologies capture leadership attention.”
By embedding sustainability into everyday decisions, it can begin to influence longer term goals and commitments. Epson’s Rai adds: “Sustainability must be viewed as part of a broader circular strategy. A fully circular economy may feel ambitious, but progress often begins with focused, practical steps.”
Scaling responsibly
While there are obstacles, combining a sustainable mindset with practical technological change enables organisations to redesign their systems around more circular strategies and keep up with demand sustainably.
Ultimately, sustainable growth will depend on innovation in systems and mindset to support environmentally conscious, long-term results. Rai concludes: “Technological advancement and circular thinking should not compete; they must progress together.”
