A recent study from EY has shown that chief executives are looking at utilising AI technologies for productivity now, and looking for net zero as a longer-term priority. But does it need to be one or the other?
Each quarter, EY publishes a survey of 1,200 global CEOs on their prospects, challenges, and opportunities. The most recent report, issued at the end of April, concluded that there were two main priorities for bosses; one short-term, in AI, and one longer-term, in net zero.
More than half (54%) of CEOs polled by EY see sustainability issues as a higher priority than 12 months before, compared with 28% of institutional investors. Investing in technology, including AI, was the most popular choice for a 12-month goal, cited by 47% of CEOs. For a three-year goal, decarbonising the business model and operations was the most popular, at 43%.
“Right now, CEOs are focused on technology, especially AI transformation, as a means to boost productivity and growth,” the report notes. “But when they look into the not-too-distant future, their focus shifts to achieving net zero by decarbonising their business and creating new revenue streams.”
Sustainability News has frequently opined on the difficult balancing act required when it comes to profitability and the environment – and this remains the case. 18% of those polled said they had deprioritised sustainability due to challenging economic or financial circumstances.
However, another statistic appears on the surface to be especially interesting. 75% of CEOs polled agreed with the statement that ‘technology and AI hold the answers to many of the key sustainability challenges we face.’
So can we link the two, and can AI lead us to net zero? Yes, says Jake Loosararian of Gecko Robotics, writing for the World Economic Forum in January – but only if data quality is improved. “Over the next decade, every industry will be fundamentally altered by AI,” wrote Loosararian. “However, we face the risk of these decisions being made with the assistance of algorithms trained on incomplete or unrepresentative data.
“We must feed these world-altering technologies first-order data sets,” he added. “Global initiatives like net zero will rise and fall based on our ability to get this right.”
There are various initiatives in which this applies, which can be seen by UK government funding in March to the tune of £1.73 million. The funding was allocated into companies in three areas; using AI to accelerate decarbonisation across electricity; optimise energy use in decarbonised transportation; and optimising and identifying land use for renewables generation.
AI for Net Zero, who wasn’t part of this funding but got government assistance to the tune of £1.4m in July, is a collaborative project from Imperial College London and the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh, looks to integrate digital twins into various AI projects focused on wind, as well as transport and utilities.
Energy and power generation is a major opportunity. Indeed, as far back as 2020 EY called AI a ‘game-changer’ in this regard. This is not just with regard to renewable energy itself, but because you can predict what renewables are likely to do, this has a knock-on effect to controlling other power plants more efficiently.
An article from the IEA (International Energy Agency) describes AI and energy as the ‘new power couple’, and comes to a conclusion not dissimilar from that of Loosararian. “For AI to be an effective ally towards efficient, decarbonised and resilient power systems, governments will… need to develop mechanisms for data sharing and governance,” the authors note, suggesting a ‘coordinated global approach’ to facilitate the energy transition whilst reducing its costs.
The confluence of industries which marks AI for Net Zero’s work is also noted. “Links are deepening between the power system and the transportation, industry, building, and industrial sectors,” the IEA notes. “The result is a vastly greater need for information exchange – and more powerful tools to plan and operate power systems as they keep evolving.”
There is one clear roadblock noted, however; the energy efficiency of AI itself. Training one model, IEA noted, uses more electricity than 100 US homes consume in a year. An April article in Nature argues that the effect of future AI technologies, in terms of both the global economy and decarbonisation, is simply an unknown right now.
These are a few examples of an AI-enabled sustainable future. But how to align it all for CEOs and investors? The role of government, EY notes, remains vital going forward. Claire Coutinho, Energy Security Secretary, spoke at the recent Innovation Zero event; Coutinho told delegates that she did not want to see a ‘net zero leviathan of central planning’ crush the economy, but that the bigger contribution would be from innovation.
EY calls for a ‘strength in numbers’ approach. “By working together – particularly in what remains a challenging market – companies can access the necessary funding and incentives from investors and governments, enabling them to accelerate their transition toward more sustainable operations,” the report concludes.
“Investors can leverage their influence to drive positive change within the companies they invest in, while governments can create an enabling environment that fosters innovation and encourages the adoption of sustainable practices.”
