Research from more than 650 global organisations supports greater adoption of artificial intelligence to reduce climate footprints.
Project Management Institute thinktank The Brightline Initiative has produced a new report, Sustainability in the Age Of AI: The Integration Imperative, which advocates for more automation within organisations to identify climate-positive steps such as energy use optimisation.
The paper categorises some corporations and piblic sector players as ‘leaders’, within which artificial intelligence and sustainability have already been integrated. By contrast, ‘laggards’ commonly consider these two issues as separate agendas.
When looking at the difference between the two, leaders have now achieved an average emissions reduction of 26%, far surpassing laggards trailing at just 3%. While this proves the effectiveness of automation, the team behind the report have made it clear ‘AI is not a silver bullet, but it is a catalyst’, with strategic reinvestment driving sustained and continual environmental social and governance progress.
You can read the full report here.
Earlier this year, the potential for artificial intelligence to expedite climate research was emphasised when the winner of this year’s Manchester Prize was announced. £1million was awarded to Polaron, a company which has developed a new AI system which can cut testing and development time by around 50 years.
It has already proven effective with the identification of a new nickel manganese cobalt oxide battery material which could be deployed in EVs, lowering density – and therefore weight – by around 10%. Nevertheless, the energy demands associated with AI cannot be ignored, and are rapidly adding more pressure to countries like the UK which are simultaneously attempting to use automation for efficiency purposes, and reach net zero carbon emissions.
Image: Carlos Muza / Unsplash
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