GreenOps Meets AI: Our Focus Group Shifts Towards Sustainable AI
Interest in GreenOps is slowing across Europe, but sustainable AI is taking off. Among the companies we work with, it now makes up more than half of the demand. Our GreenOps focus group is therefore aligning its work more closely with AI, with a focus on how AI can be developed and run in a way that is efficient, transparent and sustainable.The shift reflects a wider trend in EU policy. As AI drives rapid growth in computing power, the energy and resources behind it are coming under closer scrutiny. Data centres are expected to account for more than 3% of the EU’s electricity demand by 2030, and the EU aims to triple its data centre capacity over the next five to seven years.
In September, the European Commission proposed a common EU rating scheme for data centres with a capacity above 500 kW. It will assess how much energy and water a data centre uses, whether it reuses waste heat or adds clean energy, and how flexibly it can adjust its electricity use to grid conditions. The first sustainability labels are expected in 2027. The Commission has also launched a consultation on minimum performance standards for data centres in Europe (European Commission).
The EU AI Act also addresses energy use. Providers of general-purpose AI models must document their models’ energy consumption, and energy use can count towards classifying a model as posing a “systemic risk”. The Commission is working with standards bodies on energy-efficiency standards for AI, and voluntary codes of conduct on sustainable AI design and use are planned (White & Case).
For European companies, sustainability and AI are becoming two sides of the same coin. Our focus group will explore what this means in practice, from efficient infrastructure and models to measuring and reporting AI’s environmental footprint. If you’d like to get involved, get in touch with the ECA team.
