The Clock’s Ticking: Why Sustainability Is Going to Dominate Tech in the Next Decade

There’s mounting clarity in the scientific community: the world is approaching a tipping
point in the climate system. The latest research flags thresholds such as ice sheets collapsing,
permafrost thawing, and rainforests dying back. With that sense of urgency, sustainability isn’t
just a side topic anymore. It is the global policy issue for the next decade and it is becoming
especially crucial for the tech sector.
For tech companies, sustainability can be both an opportunity and a challenge. Tech
companies will face heightened pressure to make their operations greener. Consider data centers,
they are among the largest consumers of electricity globally. According to the International
Energy Agency, global data centers consumed around 415 TWh (~1.5% of global electricity) in
2024, with potential to more than double by 2030 due to AI and cloud growth. This means
companies like Meta and Microsoft must accelerate use of renewable energy, boost electrical
efficiency, and rethink the energy footprint of their infrastructures.
On the other hand, tech companies have a unique advantage to transform their broader
systems such as manufacturing, supply chains, and logistics into a more innovative and
sustainable method that can decrease carbon emissions. As the world widens its sustainability
lens, water, waste, ecosystems, and biodiversity will be seen as some of the most valuable tools
to tackle environmental challenges along with digital data, AI, and other technology innovations.
However, sustainability isn’t just a policy or corporate issue. It’s a global one as well.
Nations turning inward or pulling away from collective governance may weaken the collective
action to address climate change. Yet, climate change and ecosystem collapse does not follow
borders. So by mid-to-late 2020s, I expect sustainability to increasingly shape geopolitics.
Countries behind in the race will face new forms of pressure: economic, reputational, regulatory.

Meanwhile tech companies will be operating in a world where global ecological imperatives
influence trade, investment and regulation.
While the challenges of sustainability are immense, the tech sector holds some of the
most powerful tools to meet them. With innovation, data, and collaboration driving progress,
companies can transform sustainability from an obligation into an opportunity. Proving that
technology, when guided by purpose, can help build a cleaner, smarter, and more resilient planet
for us all.

International Energy Agency. “Energy demand from AI.” IEA, 2024,
https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-and-ai/energy-demand-from-ai. Accessed 9 10 2025.
OECD. “Climate Tipping Points.” OECD, 2 December 2022,
https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/climate-tipping-points_abc5a69e-en.html.
Accessed 23 October 2025.