Greening intelligence: Charting the future of sustainable AI

Generative AI is reshaping industries, promising gains in productivity and competitiveness. Yet its rapid ascent has brought a host of challenges, from regulatory uncertainty to mounting energy demands. As firms grapple with the environmental costs of innovation, this briefing paper examines how organisations worldwide are approaching AI sustainability. Drawing on insights from users and suppliers alike, it explores the diverging regional strategies, shifting executive priorities, and the growing pressure for industry-wide standards.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)—algorithmic technology based on large language models (LLM) capable of generating text, images or other data in response to user prompts—can boost productivity and create competitive organisational advantages. As a result, companies in a wide range of industries across the world have embraced AI to seize new opportunities, such as better customer service delivery and improved operational efficiency. Given the rise of GenAI in particular, awareness has risen to executive levels at industry-leading organisations seeking to reap the full benefits of implementation.