Business leaders around the world are increasingly under pressure to reduce their negative impact on the environment, from lowering their carbon emissions to cutting back on waste. Shareholder demands, public perception, and self-motivation to help the planet are all contributing factors to this pressure. Yet, regardless of what is guiding a business towards sustainability, implementing it can be an incredibly complex undertaking that is why more and more businesses are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to help guide their sustainability efforts.  

37% of business leaders report that their firms are already actively using AI for sustainability, according to a recent study conducted by IBM. An additional 40% plan to use it soon. 

Running a business comes with a lot of complex logistics, and AI-powered tools can help gather and process valuable data that can aid strategic business decisions and find opportunities to reduce emissions. Doing so also has a lot of business benefits as well. Lowering energy and water consumption, for example, not only helps the planet, but lessens monthly operating costs as well. This increased efficiency can give businesses a competitive edge.  

In fact, 72% of executives now see sustainability as a “revenue enabler” rather than cost center, according to IBM’s findings.  

There are countless different ways to utilize artificial intelligence to improve business operations and costs. Many businesses struggle to report on their Scope 3 emissions, those emissions that are not caused directly by the business but through other business partners. Many businesses have found AI to be helpful in processing all the complex data from third-party suppliers and partners, understanding the level of Scope 3 emissions and identifying places where partnerships can be reduced, consolidated, or changed to lower the level of emissions.  

AI can also be used to understand energy consumption data across various locations, to monitor equipment for issues that may be causing higher emissions, to predict how much new initiatives may help lower negative environmental impact and more. It provides crucial data that can help empower business leaders to make the best decisions for their company and the planet.  

Of course, data on its own is not enough to become sustainable. Analyzing the data and having experts who can define actionable takeaways from the numbers is key. For 44% of CEOs, a lack of insight from data is their number one challenge when it comes to sustainability. Plus, running AI programs does have its own environmental impact, and using it must be done in a way that balances out and ultimately has a tangible positive effect. 

Despite these small challenges, it is clear that AI is a positive force when harnessed well, and businesses around the world are already using it as a tool for sustainable change. To learn more about the role artificial intelligence is playing for global business leaders, read IBM’s full study here.