Generative AI has promising use cases for sustainability

Generative AI has promising use cases
for sustainability

Generating a sustainable future

% of executives who agree with the statement: Generative AI will play a key role in our organization's sustainability transformation efforts (September 2023)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an essential tool in the fight against climate change. It can make precise weather predictions, track air quality, and measure in real time the carbon footprint of a product– or even an entire supply chain.²

59% of executives say generative AI is key to their companies’ sustainability transformation. In the financial services sector, this number rises to 67%.

_{² United Nations Environment Program, “How artificial intelligence is helping tackle environmental challenges,” November 2022. Accessed October 2023.}

The future is here, today – many industries can or are already benefiting from generative AI to support their sustainability strategies:

Retail

Retailers can use generative AI models to analyze historical demand patterns, market trends and external factors to generate forecasts. By adjusting their supply accordingly, they can cut costs and minimize waste from unpurchased products.³

LOGISTICS

Shipping, receiving, and supply chain organizations can leverage generative AI algorithms to increase efficiency while optimizing delivery routes. This promises to minimize fuel consumption and carbon emissions.⁵

Aerospace & defense

Thanks to the use of AI algorithms in its generative design process, Airbus has developed aircraft parts that are 45% lighter than traditional parts. This could reduce Airbus’s annual CO2 emissions by nearly 500,000 metric tons (mt) if rolled out across its A320 fleet.⁷

Reporting

US start-up C3 AI has developed a generative AI tool that promises to automate sustainability reporting⁸, making the writing of long, complex reports much easier for communications teams.

life sciences

Researchers from the University of Valencia and the University of Sussex have found that AI can be used to protect against biodiversity loss.⁹They've analyzed the coexistence between different plan species and created planting recommendations based on this data.

healthcare

Finally, generative AI can improve information access, helping visually impaired people understand what they are looking at. Mobile app Be My Eyes has launched a tool that leverages OpenAI’s GPT-4 language model. When users share images, the tool can describe them and answer various questions.¹⁰

_³ _{Xenonstack, ”Generative AI in supply chain optimization,” August 2023. Accessed October 2023. ⁵ Logility, ”Revolutionizing supply chain planning: The power of generative AI,” July 2023. Accessed October 2023. ⁷Autodesk, "Autodesk and Airbus demonstrate the impact of generative design on making and building,” November 2019; Capgemini Research Institute, “Harnessing the value of generative AI: Top use cases across industries,” June 2023. ⁸ C3.ai, “Monitor, report, and accelerate ESG performance with AI,” Accessed May 2023; Capgemini Research Institute, “Harnessing the value of generative AI: Top use cases across industries,” June 2023. ⁹ British Ecological Society, “A deep generative Artificial Intelligence system to predict species coexistence patterns,” February 2022; Capgemini Research Institute, “Preserving the fabric of life: why biodiversity loss is as urgent as climate change,” September 2023. ¹⁰By My Eyes corporate website. Accessed October 2023.}

57%

of executives say their organization has started to mitigate the environmental impact of generative AI.

For all its benefits, generative AI is costly in terms of carbon. In fact, Capgemini research has shown that 78% of executives know that generative AI can have a greater output of pollutants than traditional IT. However, over half of executives in our 2023 report offset the impact of generative AI, for example by investing in renewable energy sources. In the aerospace and defense sector, off-setters stand for 70%.

CXO Corner

For the CTO

Explore the potential of technology to achieve climate goals

The Chief Technology Officer must thoroughly investigate the potential of generative AI, with an eye for potential applications to the business. More than half of executives feel that this technology has a central role to play in their sustainability transformations. The CTO should figure out how to balance the high environmental impact of generative AI before embracing it fully.

For the CPO

Design more sustainable products

The Chief Product Officer can leverage generative AI to design more sustainable prototypes, for example, to fabricate equipment parts that are less costly to make or run. The technology can shave time and waste off the design process. Similarly, it can help analyze a building’s metrics to generate a detailed energy analysis, identify potential energy savings, and suggest improvements to meet sustainability standards.¹¹

For the CFO/CSO

Collaborate on reporting

The Chief Financial Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer should collaborate to automate sustainability reporting. Generative AI has the potential to make reporting a breeze even for large, multi-national companies. Its ability to collect and analyze huge amounts of data can make the complex task of sustainability reporting more accurate and straightforward.

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