How artificial intelligence can drive real sustainability

The question of sustainability is a question of digitalization. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool that can make digital operations more efficient, furthering any goal a company may have – including increased sustainability.

This blog is part of a three-part series co-developed by Capgemini and Microsoft, exploring how AI-driven digitalization can accelerate operational excellence and sustainability. From enterprise-wide deployment to the evolving human-AI dynamic, the series highlights key enablers for unlocking value responsibly at scale.

Sustainability is one of the defining challenges of our time – and it’s an opportunity for innovation as much as a call to action. Like any powerful technology, AI has an environmental footprint that must be acknowledged and addressed. At the same time, AI offers a unique opportunity to reach our sustainability goals. One third (33%) of executives say they have already started using AI for sustainability initiatives. Organizations worldwide are using AI to make their digitization more efficient – and therefore more sustainable.

Versatile technology for every need

The field of AI is evolving rapidly and offers immense potential. The technology has advanced beyond Generative AI, which simply reacts to prompts written by humans. Now, AI agents can act more autonomously and more accurately, collaborating with each other to perform complex tasks. AI is a powerful technology built for flexibility in model and scale, with applications across every industry.

High-powered digitalization with AI

Harnessing AI’s capabilities to boost existing digital solutions could completely change the game when it comes to addressing sustainability issues.

Consider its capability to monitor and manage complex systems. For example, in the U.S. and the U.K., AI-powered sensors and software can measure and predict the real-time capacity of transmission lines in the energy grid. The optimization of this complex system has unlocked significant unused capacity on long-distance transmission lines. This directly enables the adoption of renewable energy sources, which are often located far from where their power is needed. The U.K.’s National Grid used this technology to increase capacity by 60% and add an additional 600 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind capacity.

When coupled with high-performance cloud computing, AI can significantly accelerate the development of innovative sustainability solutions. R&D teams are already deploying AI solutions in materials science. Using digital twins to simulate and predict the properties of materials that could be used in new kinds of batteries, they’re cutting development time down from years to weeks.

What’s more, AI and digitalization are empowering the human workforce, especially when it comes to sustainability initiatives. Some companies are already using AI to collect Scope 3 emissions data from suppliers, streamlining the process and reducing the administrative burden on employees. This leaves humans more time for strategizing, decision-making, and implementation.

Effective use of AI

So how can organizations leverage AI to drive their sustainability agenda?

Precision is key. Carefully optimized AI consumes fewer resources – and gets the job done more efficiently. Recent research shows that organizations are achieving measurable efficiencies, leading to cost reductions ranging from 26% to 31%. To find the best solution, companies first need to identify their needs. Guided by an expert partner like Capgemini, they can then choose the proper algorithm, model, and agents for each use case. Capgemini can then streamline deployment by seamlessly and securely integrating agentic capabilities into a company’s existing technology infrastructure.

It’s also important for companies not to neglect the fundamentals on either side of AI agents: humans and data. To operate most efficiently, AI agents need access to robust and reliable data sets. They also need to be directed by human employees – who themselves need to be trained in AI management. With precise direction and clear data to process, AI agents can make a significant contribution to any sustainability initiative.

A tool for a more sustainable future

While digitalization increases energy and resource consumption, AI represents a powerful lever for making these digital processes more efficient. Organizations can strategically leverage AI’s analytical and predictive power to not only reduce their environmental footprint but also empower their workforce.