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August 10, 2026
Why AI May Be Our Most Powerful Sustainability Ally
AI is already advancing measurable sustainability progress across buildings, grids and transport. Unlocking its full potential will depend on how intentionally we invest in technology, talent and collaboration.
Artificial intelligence sits squarely at the center of one of today’s biggest tensions. On one hand, AI is contributing to rapidly growing global energy demand and the resulting strains on systems and infrastructure. On the other hand, it is one of the most powerful tools we have to reduce waste and emissions at scale. Both facts are true, but rather than fixating on the energy that AI consumes, let’s focus on the sustainability impact it can deliver.
Systemic risks are intensifying as heatwaves, floods, wildfires and prolonged drought become more common. The resulting disruptions are affecting people and organizations everywhere, and the scale and rapidity of the escalation are outpacing the tools in our current toolbox.
This is where AI’s real value comes into focus. Not as a silver bullet, but as an incredibly powerful tool when combined with human expertise, collaboration, policy alignment and a willingness to rethink how systems are designed and operated.
AI technology is already helping reduce emissions and waste across sectors, systematically identifying inefficiencies and scaling solutions. We’re just beginning to understand and apply its potential.
AI is already delivering sustainability impact
AI is uniquely capable of operating at the speed, scale and complexity that today’s challenges require. And we are seeing that unfold in real-world deployments reducing energy demand and emissions across sectors and industries.
For example, operations in the built environment account for nearly 30% of global energy-related emissions, much of which comes from heating and cooling. At the same time, almost 1/3 of the energy procured for the commercial built environment is wasted after purchase. Trane Technologies uses AI-enabled controls to deliver emissions reductions of up to 40%, which translates into millions of tons of CO₂ avoided each year, along with reduced energy costs.
From a broader perspective, AI is creating progress in grid resilience and energy demand management. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that global energy demand grew at a faster-than-average pace in 2024, as the consumption of electricity rose around the world. When deployed across energy grids, AI-enabled energy demand management programs balance fluctuations while integrating renewable energy, overcoming one of the biggest barriers to clean power.
Industrial and transport efficiency are also areas of opportunity for AI. Commercial transport is being optimized through AI algorithms that design routes, reduce idling times and manage charging infrastructure. For example, AI-powered logistics are being used in transport refrigeration to optimize delivery routes for perishable foods, resulting in faster transport and less spoilage.
These examples are just the beginning. The future of AI will bring even bigger opportunities for impact if we deepen our focus and investment.
AI is uniquely capable of operating at the speed, scale and complexity that today’s challenges require.
The future of AI: turning innovation into measurable progress
The next phase of our progress will be shaped by how intentionally we invest in and apply AI. When we zoom out to look at the big picture, we see that, in many cases, our current systems have normalized inefficiency. One of AI’s greatest strengths is in identifying and eliminating that issue at scale, uncovering and correcting systemic waste.
Take the agricultural sector, for example. Roughly half of the world’s arable land is used for food production, but research by the Food and Agriculture Organization shows that around 1/3 of the resulting food we produce is wasted. AI could mitigate or eliminate that massive waste. From helping farmers identify optimal harvest times or crops at risk of disease, to analyzing weather, soil, and crop health patterns to predict yields, AI can help reduce losses across the agricultural value chain. It can also help retailers and producers better predict consumer demand, reducing overproduction and surplus. And machine learning models can optimize order planning, inventory levels and product rotation to prevent spoilage and discarded food.
This is another example of the transformative ecological and economic impact that AI could have in one of society’s most essential sectors. But to achieve those goals, we need human skills and ingenuity.
The role of people, partnerships and policy
Technology alone cannot drive transformation. Without the right talent, even the most powerful AI tools will fall short. Skilled people are essential for translating AI’s promise into impact, which is why continued investment in workforce skills and expertise is crucial. Empowering people to become sustainability problem-solvers is what will ultimately increase AI’s ability to drive meaningful change.
Cross-functional collaboration between sustainability, technology, and business leaders is crucial, too. To achieve AI’s full potential, we need to accelerate proven solutions through shared standards, platforms and partnerships. Cross-sector collaboration will accelerate learning curves, and drive progress while integrated approaches will enable faster innovation and adoption. People, again, are the key here, applying their unmatched ability and expertise to act as collaborators, strategic thinkers and system connectors, not just operators of AI tools.
What AI can do for us across the entire value chain is monumental. Balanced policy will play a key role in achieving that potential. While thoughtful regulation and oversight are necessary, overly-stringent AI regulations and excessive bureaucracy could slow down innovation, push development elsewhere or prevent potentially transformative technologies from reaching the market.
The path forward
To meet the needs of this moment, we must harness every tool that delivers positive impact. There is no time to wait for perfect conditions or ideal policy. AI is capable of unlocking measurable and scalable economic transformation. This is not a distant promise: it is a current reality.
Across every industry, AI can drive remarkable gains in sustainability, efficiency and value creation. But to achieve this outcome, we will need to invest simultaneously in technology, talent and collaboration across industries and functions.
The opportunity is here. The potential and the results are visible. What is needed now is the collective will and coordinated action to maximize AI’s potential to combat one of the greatest challenges of our time.
This article was originally published at Forbes.
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