TECHNOLOGY & AI
against your peers or common standard setters and then validate it back against your CSRD requirements , you don ’ t know – and you ’ re at risk of non-compliance as well as decision-making based on inaccurate insights . And that ’ s not particularly favourable for anyone ’ s share price .
In the world of Scope 3 , though , it ’ s important not to discount the impacts of AI as a technology that demands higher computing power to function . Although this perhaps isn ’ t the high form of energy consumption on the agenda , truly net-zero emissions take into account all factors – AI must also comply . However , the CSO of the leading tech firm ’ s Western-European operations understands AI ’ s implications in the grand scheme of things , but the latest technologies can support driving down the overall percentage of carbon-emitting compute power .
Currently , AI compute accounts for only a fraction of the electricity used by data centres , which collectively use about 1 % of the global electricity supply . As the infrastructure needed to support AI expands , demand for resources such as energy and water will rise . History has shown us that innovation can curb that demand .”
At Microsoft , we are continuously researching and innovating to make our data centres and AI systems ever more energy- and- water efficient . We are also working with energy suppliers around the globe to procure clean energy in the grids where we operate . Since 2013 , Microsoft has generated 19 GW of renewable energy . Now the reality is that procuring clean energy year-on-year alone is not enough . That ’ s why we announced that 100 % of our electricity consumption , 100 % of the time will be matched by zero carbon energy purchases .
88 January 2024