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Sustainability

Developing sustainable Gen AI

Report from the Capgemini Research Institute

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Developing Sustainable Gen AI, a new report from the Capgemini Research Institute, highlights the environmental impact of generative AI (Gen AI) and provides a roadmap for developing sustainable Gen AI practices.


As more organizations incorporate Gen AI into their processes, the technology’s environmental footprint needs to be considered. Yet, according to the report, only 12% of executives confirm that their organizations measure Gen AI’s footprint, and just 20% rank the environmental footprint of Gen AI among the top five factors when selecting or building models.

By processing large volumes of data quickly, Gen AI enables organizations to enhance customer experience, streamline operations, boost growth, and accelerate innovation. However, these valuable advantages come at a cost that goes beyond the monetary. The reliance on processing large amounts of data means the technology requires enormous computational power, which in turn has a significant environmental impact.

The production of graphics processing units (GPUs), which are essential for Gen AI, involves mining rare earth metals, which contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Data centers used by Gen AI also consume significant amounts of energy and water for cooling purposes, and frequent hardware upgrades further stress natural resources.

Developing Sustainable Gen AI is based on a survey of 2,000 senior executives from organizations with annual revenue above $1 billion and which have Gen AI initiatives underway. Of these executives, 48% believe their use of Gen AI has increased GHG emissions. Furthermore, 42% of executives are relooking at their climate goals due to Gen AI’s growing environmental footprint.

Businesses are beginning to incorporate sustainability measures into the Gen AI lifecycle, but so far, only 31% of executives say their organization has taken steps in this direction. As Gen AI models become more complex and pervasive, careful management of both financial and environmental costs will be crucial to scalability.

The report sets out a roadmap for creating responsible Gen AI for sustainable business value, which includes:

  • Identifying the right technology to address the business needs
  • Assessing and mitigating environmental impact
  • Investing in the right use cases to accelerate sustainable business value
  • Developing data and technology foundations
  • Governing for sustainability.

Download the report to find out how your organization can balance technological advancement with environmental responsibility.

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Further reading

Data and artificial intelligence

Leading sustainability

Harnessing the value of generative AI: 2nd edition

Meet our experts

Cyril Garcia

Group Executive Board member, Head of Global Sustainability Services and Corporate Responsibility
Cyril has more than 25 years of experience in consulting in the fields of services, the public sector, utilities, and telecommunications. In 2018, he launched the new Capgemini Invent brand, whose mission is to support decision-makers in defining and implementing the future of their organizations. In addition to his responsibilities at Capgemini Invent, Cyril took over in 2019 the management of sector strategy and social and environmental responsibility of the Capgemini group.
Etienne Grass

Etienne Grass

Managing Director at Capgemini Invent France
Etienne serves as the Managing Director of Capgemini Invent for France. Having joined the Capgemini Group in 2017, he dedicated his initial four years to the Public Services sector in France and later expanded his scope globally within Capgemini Invent. Prior to his current role, he played a pivotal role in leading the BLEU sovereign cloud project for the entire Group.

Anne-Laure Thieullent

Executive Vice President, Data & AI Group Offer Leader
Choosing the right technology for the right usage is key, but how your company should change the way it acts around data is vital. My passion is to bring technology, business transformation and governance together and take our clients to where they want to be as Intelligent Enterprises, while cultivating the values of trust, privacy and fairness.

Vincent Charpiot

Executive Vice President, Head of Group Sustainability Accelerator, Capgemini
I am a senior business executive and global business leader with extensive experience in helping clients manage their digital transformations. I lead the Group Sustainability Accelerator and my focus is to ensure we go to market with a unique Sustainability Services portfolio and ecosystem to help our clients on their journey to Net Zero, in an evolving ESG regulation.

Steve Jones

Expert in Big Data and Analytics
Steve is the founder of Capgemini’s businesses in Cloud, SaaS, and Big Data, a published author in journals such as the Financial Times and IEEE Software. He is also the original creator of the first unified architecture for Big Fast Managed data, the Business Data Lake. He works with clients on delivering large-scale data solutions and the secure adoption of AI, he is the Capgemini lead for Collaborate Data Ecosystems and Trusted AI.

Christopher Scheefer

Vice President | NA Lead for Intelligent Industry | Data and AI @Scale, Capgemini
A thought leader, speaker, and an author on driving digital transformations utilizing advanced analytics (specifically Artificial Intelligence, and Cognitive) Edge Intelligence, and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Christopher is a result oriented executive and recognized thought leader with more than two decades of experience and demonstrated success assisting large, global entities in driving change, through leveraging digital technologies at scale. He also is a forward-thinking strategist and industry advisor with an extensive record of defining technology strategy that have helped propel global companies to world-class status.

Liz Lugnier

Analyst Relations Director: Sustainability, Innovation, Customer Experience, Consulting, Consumer Products and Retail, Automotive, Europe
Liz is the host of the Future Sight podcast. She has experience in a multitude of industries, including innovation, customer experience, consulting, sustainability, retail and consumer products, automotive, and the public sector.

Dr. Dorothea Pohlmann

CTO Sustainability, Capgemini Engineering
With 15 years at Capgemini Engineering, Dorothea has applied her technical skills in business transformation and technology projects in automotive, manufacturing, e-mobility, energy and utilities sectors. More recently she has focused on sustainability-driven business with a specific expertise in Product Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) in the context of complex systems, wind energy and hydrogen. She is an active speaker at conferences and events on sustainability, and is passionate about the need for more sustainable-driven business impact. She holds a doctorate in laser physics.

Vincent de Montalivet

Principal, Global Co-Offer Lead, Carbon Sustainability Data Hub
Empowering sustainability with Data & AI innovation and culture change is a way to bring value generating transformation pathway for business, planet and society