How AI Is Powering A Greener And Sustainable Future

With climate issues growing more pressing by the day, artificial intelligence (AI) is proving to be a potent friend in the struggle for a more sustainable world. From making energy use in buildings more efficient to speeding research on green technologies and getting a workforce that can deal with environmental issues, AI is transforming efforts toward sustainability worldwide.

In the United States, schools in sunny Georgia and furniture stores in cold Minnesota have long used energy-intensive systems to regulate indoor temperature. But thanks to AI-enabled software from firms such as 75F, these buildings are now able to automate energy-conserving measures. Rather than pumping hot air or cold air at full blast, the system digests real-time information—weather patterns, occupancy of rooms, air quality, and equipment efficiency—and adjusts HVAC settings for comfort and efficiency. “We’ve taken the complexity of building management and created a smart energy autopilot that works for any size of building and is easy to use,” says Dave Koerner, vice president of global marketing for 75F.

These technologies are all part of an even greater movement toward harnessing AI for energy efficiency. The effect is significant: through a three-year analysis by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 75F's technology enabled customers to reduce HVAC energy consumption by 42%. Not only does this save dollars, but it also restricts greenhouse gas emissions. The technology, based on Azure AI, is being supported by a Microsoft grant under the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, a program making investments in climate technologies.

Amy Luers, senior worldwide director of Sustainability Science and Innovation at Microsoft, stresses the importance of adopting AI for climate action. "The world must move to a more sustainable future at a speed and scale never before experienced," she says. "AI has a potential to drive that speed and scale, lowering global emissions and reaching net zero sooner.

Whereas datacenters behind AI take less than 1% of global greenhouse emissions, their sharp increase in select places puts stresses on energy and water infrastructure. To combat that, Microsoft is pushing its datacenters to use energy and water more efficiently, convert to clean, carbon-free electricity, and drive benefits into communities—work for which AI is proving decisive.

Apart from energy efficiency, AI is also accelerating the design of sustainability technologies that previously used to take decades of research. A recent battery material breakthrough—a compound that diminishes the utilization of lithium—was facilitated through the combination of AI and high-performance computing. Because lithium extraction has heavy environmental impacts, the breakthrough is a huge victory for cleaner technology.

AI is also revolutionizing material sciences, allowing innovations that lower the carbon footprint of building materials such as steel and concrete. In a pitch challenge organized by nonprofit climate investor Elemental Impact, AI professionals pitched solutions that look at millions of concrete mix designs to minimize carbon reduction, cost, and performance. Other initiatives employ AI to create greener steelmaking technologies and incorporate carbon-negative biomass into industrial products. Challenge winners get funded, equity invested, and access to pilot programs, backed by Microsoft's $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund.

Avra van der Zee, COO at Elemental Impact, highlights AI’s role in bridging innovation and scalability. “We’re thrilled to create more opportunities connecting these promising solutions to the capital and customers they need to scale,” she says. James Lockyer, portfolio management director at the Climate Innovation Fund, adds that AI is vital in transforming the entire materials value chain.

Another key domain in which AI is having an impact is employee training. While there is increased need for green careers in clean energy, electric cars, and carbon reporting, skilled labor demand outstrips the available trained manpower. Based on LinkedIn's 2024 Global Green Skills Report, demand outpaces supply by qualified staff. AI can come to the rescue through personalized learning platforms that scan individual skill levels, create gap analysis, and recommend targeted study paths.

Microsoft, for instance, is creating AI technologies for farmers, such as a chatbot that provides personalized and context-specific farming tips. The technology giant is also assisting individuals in acquiring basic AI skills through LinkedIn Learning and its Green Digital Skills certificate program in collaboration with INCO Academy. The program has already enrolled 30,000 learners from 140 countries.

It requires a workforce with the capacity to design and power progress toward sustainable goals," maintains Luers. "AI will augment and magnify human potential." With continuing challenges posed by climate change for the planet, AI emerges as more than simply a tool but a transformative enabler propelling humanity on a faster path towards a greener, more sustainable future.