As organizations strive to balance productivity, innovation and environmental responsibility, the need for sustainable IT practices is even more pressing. A new global study from the IBM Institute for Business Value reveals that emerging technologies, particularly generative AI, can play a pivotal role in advancing sustainable IT initiatives. However, successful transformation of IT systems demands a strategic and enterprise-wide approach to sustainability.

The power of generative AI in sustainable IT

Generative AI is creating new opportunities to transform IT operations and make them more sustainable. Teams can use this technology to quickly translate code into more energy-efficient languages, develop more sustainable algorithms and software and analyze code performance to optimize energy consumption. 27% of organizations surveyed are already applying generative AI in their sustainable IT initiatives, and 63% of respondents plan to follow suit by the end of 2024. By 2027, 89% are expecting to be using generative AI in their efforts to reduce the environmental impact of IT.

Despite the growing interest in using generative AI for sustainability initiatives, leaders must first consider its broader implications, particularly energy consumption.

64% say they are using generative AI and large language models, yet only one-third of those report having made significant progress in addressing its environmental impact. To bridge this gap, executives must take a thoughtful and intentional approach to generative AI, asking questions like, “What do we need to achieve?” and “What is the smallest model that we can use to get there?”

A holistic approach to sustainability

To have a lasting impact, sustainability must be woven into the very fabric of an organization, breaking free from traditional silos and incorporating it into every aspect of operations. Leading organizations are already embracing this approach, integrating sustainable practices across their entire operations, from data centers to supply chains, to networks and products. This enables operational efficiency by optimizing resource allocation and utilization, maximizing output and minimizing waste.

The results are telling: 98% of surveyed organizations that take a holistic, enterprise-wide approach to sustainable IT report seeing benefits in operational efficiency—compared to 50% that do not. The leading organizations also attribute greater reductions in energy usage and costs to their efforts. Moreover, they report impressive environmental benefits, with two times greater reduction in their IT carbon footprint.

Hybrid cloud and automation: key enablers of sustainable IT

Many organizations are turning to hybrid cloud and automation technologies to help reduce their environmental footprint and improve business performance. By providing visibility into data, workloads and applications across multiple clouds and systems, a hybrid cloud platform enables leaders to make data-driven decisions. This allows them to determine where to run their workloads, thereby reducing energy consumption and minimizing their environmental impact.

In fact, one quarter (25%) of surveyed organizations are already using hybrid cloud solutions to boost their sustainability and energy efficiency. Nearly half (46%) of those report a substantial positive impact on their overall IT sustainability. Automation is also playing a key role in this shift. With 83% of leading organizations harnessing its power to dynamically adjust IT environments based on demand.

Sustainable IT strategies for a better tomorrow

The future of innovation is inextricably linked to a deep commitment to sustainability. As business leaders harness the power of technology to drive impact, responsible decision-making is crucial, particularly in the face of emerging technologies such as generative AI. To better navigate this intersection of IT and sustainability, here are a few actions to consider: 

1.    Actively manage the energy consumption associated with AI: Optimize the value of generative AI while minimizing its environmental footprint by actively managing energy consumption from development to deployment. For example, choose AI models that are designed for speed and energy efficiency to process information more effectively while reducing the computational power required.

2.    Identify your environmental impact drivers: Understand how different elements of your IT estate influence environmental impacts and how this can change as you scale new IT efforts.

3.    Embrace sustainable-by-design principles: Embed sustainability assessments into the design and planning stages of every IT project, by using a hybrid cloud platform to centralize control and gain better visibility across your entire IT estate.