We explore the environmental sustainability of Artificial Intelligence (AI), focusing on Generative AI (GenAI) such as Large Language Models (LLMs). As GenAI matures along the typical "hype cycle" for emerging technologies, new challenges and benefits will emerge. But let's not lose sight of the big picture -- the future of AI's environmental impact isn't about acute environmental impacts, but rather how the AI-driven economy will compare in sustainability to the traditional one. We must acknowledge AI's dual potential for both societal decay and advancement. To explore the issues, we dive into the evolving environmental impact of GenAI over time, drawing parallels with previous technologies, including the early Internet. Finally, we have a Q&A on AI's influence on electricity usage and corporate carbon footprints. Are the energy impacts of AI overblown? Could AI potentially lead to energy savings in other areas? Forward-thinking business leaders will consider the broader business model and ethical implications of AI. When we talk about a sustainable future, we must think bigger than immediate carbon and energy impacts.

This week, we're digging into the energy transition and what it means for businesses, especially mid-market manufacturers and brands.

This podcast highlights that while the clean energy transition is undeniably accelerating globally, with huge growth in renewables, it's also facing significant challenges – think geopolitical shifts, economic volatility, and tricky, fragmented regulations.

For companies, ESG, or Environmental, Social, and Governance factors, are now central to strategy, but mid-market firms are particularly squeezed; they feel customer demand and regulatory pressure but often lack the resources of giants. Navigating this means tackling immense physical realities, from scaling up electric vehicles and heat pumps to managing grid capacity and finding critical minerals. The key takeaway? Despite political noise and complexities, inaction has a rising cost.

Companies are finding they must adapt strategically, focusing on what genuinely impacts their business value, managing risks, ensuring compliance with mandates (especially international and state-level) and investing in data. It's a call for pragmatic, evidence-based action.

Sources for this piece include: Original analysis by Third Partners, "5 things to know about the energy transition in 2025," by IMD.org, and "Ten physical realities the energy transition must tackle," by McKinsey Global Institute.

Who will pay for the electrical capacity to meet AI's insatiable demands? This was a hot topic in DC at the Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy. Adam Freedgood, Principal and Co-Founder of Third Partners, a leading sustainability consultancy, was on the ground.

Freedgood shares what he heard, starting with insights on how U.S. energy policy, and the new administration's fossil fuel oriented goals, are clashing with the economic realities and sustainability-forward ambitions cases of American manufacturers and businesses.

The summit was a positive, productive gathering of building energy professionals, scientists, engineers, corporate sustainability directors, city managers, real estate portfolio managers, and other stakeholders in the clean energy economy.

Attendees shared strategies for successfully implementing advanced energy technologies that reduce operating costs and achieve sustainability goals, such as reducing GHG emissions.

For more information on how the U.S. DOE partners with businesses, visit their website at: https://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/better-plants