AI is exploding and eating up energy at an unprecedented rate. But at the recent BizNow Data Center Conference in Virginia, our CTO Dip Patel noticed something surprising: no one was talking about sustainability.
Despite AI’s massive and growing power demands, sustainability wasn’t on the agenda. And that’s a problem.
Sustainability should be a strategic advantage for forward-thinking enterprises, a differentiator, not just a box to check. But today, it’s being treated like an optional, inconvenient burden.
That shift from value driver to compliance afterthought has left companies unprepared for what’s coming. And if the industry doesn’t course-correct soon, those ignoring sustainability may find themselves locked into costly, dirty infrastructure with no way out.
Why Enterprises are Overlooking AI Sustainability
Sustainability has long been an aspirational goal that companies strive for rather than a necessity tied to penalties. For those genuinely committed, it’s often a “don’t say anything” approach. Many companies, particularly in AI, are laser-focused on compute availability, securing scalable resources without much consideration for sustainability.
Sustainability was a major topic at trade shows like GTC a couple of years ago. Today, it has disappeared. Why? The answer is simple.
The Hidden Cost of Scaling Compute
As AI continues to scale, the energy consumption from compute is set to surpass everything else a company does. If that compute isn’t powered by clean energy, achieving sustainability targets becomes impossible. Even with every employee going net zero, if 80% of your energy use is coal-powered computing, it won’t matter.
This is why many companies aren’t talking about it. They know that purchasing compute without a clear path to sustainability locks them into failure when it comes to climate goals. So, they stay silent, avoiding the issue altogether.
While some companies, like Facebook, measure their energy use more carefully, most are still indifferent.
What’s Actually Stopping Enterprises from Acting
In periods of high chaos, like today, sustainability is often seen as a “nice-to-have” rather than a business imperative. Companies focus on survival, tightening their belts and cutting anything that doesn’t directly drive profit. Unfortunately, sustainability falls into that category right now. There is no clear metric or consequence for non-compliance.
Easy access to cheap, non-renewable energy has already been exhausted, and data centers are now scrambling for whatever energy they can find, whether it’s green or not. Sustainable energy often involves technical risks that most data center companies, which are essentially real estate businesses, are reluctant to take on.
Historically, their focus was on securing land near people and good internet infrastructure. But now, with AI, proximity doesn’t matter. It’s all about securing massive amounts of power, regardless of the source.
When “Green” Companies Burn Gas
Enterprises are using what’s available. The ones deploying AI compute have been buying up the remaining cheap, non-green power. And now that the low-hanging fruit is gone, they’re making moves.
Some companies are building massive natural gas plants just to power their data centers because they won’t have access to green energy for years. And these are companies that publicly position themselves as green.
They’re putting a new natural gas plant on the grid. Not because it helps sustainability but because it’s their only option. And nothing about that pushes us toward cleaner energy.
Some people claim natural gas is “clean,” but it’s a byproduct of oil production. The companies making money from natural gas are oil companies. So, by consuming natural gas, you’re funding the very industry you’re supposed to be disrupting.
Let’s say I drill and get one gallon of oil and one gallon of liquid natural gas. If oil prices drop to zero, I won’t keep drilling (unless I can make money on the gas). So suddenly, it doesn’t matter what the oil’s worth. I’ll keep drilling, store the oil, and sell the gas.
Right now, all that matters is access to power. Not whether it’s clean.
Enterprises are sitting on a ticking time bomb
The real issue lies in the long-term contracts enterprises are signing for compute. If that compute is powered by dirty energy, how can they ever reduce their carbon footprint? They can’t.
The only options would be to buy far more compute powered by green energy or cancel those contracts and relocate workloads, which isn’t likely given the investment involved. With billions sunk into data centers, companies are locked in.
If sustainability becomes a priority again (due to new regulations, carbon taxes, or emissions scoring), they may find themselves stuck with non-compliant infrastructure and no feasible way out.
Data centers cost around $10 million per megawatt to build and another $20-30 million to fill with compute. Walking away from these assets isn’t an option. These legacy contracts could leave enterprises exposed to substantial financial and regulatory risks.
Rethinking the Narrative
The silence around AI’s energy footprint isn’t just an oversight. It’s avoidance. Enterprises are betting big on compute without considering the long-term sustainability costs. But this short-term thinking is a trap.
Sustainability is not a compliance checkbox. It’s a competitive edge waiting to be claimed. Companies that lead with clean, ethical compute can build brand trust, future-proof their infrastructure, and avoid the regulatory and financial shocks that are likely on the horizon.
Right now, the conversation is quiet. But it won’t stay that way.
The real question is: who will act now and who will be forced to act later, when the cost is much higher?
