IICSR chief pushes sustainable AI agenda as data-centre demand climbs

By AI, Created 4:46 AM UTC, June 01, 2026, /AGP/ – Harsha Saxena led an IICSR USA workshop in Palo Alto on how companies can scale artificial intelligence without worsening energy, water and emissions pressures. The event came as global data-centre power demand rises fast and sustainability teams face a new challenge: measure AI’s full environmental cost, not just its productivity gains.

Why it matters: - Artificial intelligence is spreading across business, government and daily life, but its infrastructure is using more electricity and water. - The stakes are rising for companies, because AI is now tied to energy planning, water security, emissions accounting, corporate governance and ESG risk. - The issue matters for sustainability teams that must balance AI-driven efficiency gains with the environmental load of the systems behind them.

What happened: - Harsha Saxena, Founder and CEO of IICSR, led IICSR USA’s one-day executive workshop in Palo Alto, California, on 15 May 2026. - The workshop, titled “AI and Sustainability: From Strategy to Scalability,” was held at Venture Dock. - Sustainability professionals, technology leaders, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and climate-tech practitioners from across Silicon Valley attended. - IICSR USA organized the event as part of a broader effort to build global capacity around sustainability, ESG, responsible business and emerging technologies. - The workshop was sponsored by TheAgentic. - Women in Cleantech and Sustainability, Founders Bay and Medallion XLN served as Knowledge Partners. - Tissage joined as Gift Partner, and Crewz supported the program as Travel Partner.

The details: - The workshop examined AI for net zero, ESG transformation, sustainable data centres, AI governance, ethical deployment, climate-tech innovation, circular economy models and regenerative business strategies. - Participants discussed how AI could improve sustainability reporting, identify emissions across supply chains, support climate-risk analysis, optimize energy use and create more efficient business systems. - The sessions also focused on transparency, governance, resource consumption and ethical implementation. - Speakers and contributors included Nikunj J. Parekh of Wipro AI & Data, Christian Butzlaff of SAP, Prof. PK Prasanna Kumar of Business Optima and the AI Trust Foundation, Sadia Raveendran of Hammerhead and Women in Cleantech and Sustainability, Mariane Bekker of You.com and Founders Bay, and Dwayne Campbell of Medallion XLN. - Saxena said the future of sustainability depends on integrating emerging technologies responsibly, with accountability, transparency and respect for planetary boundaries. - Saxena also said IICSR USA is building bridges between sustainability leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs and AI innovators to create scalable impact solutions. - IICSR focuses on training professionals in sustainability, ESG, CSR, climate action and responsible business. - Through IICSR USA, the organization is extending that work into AI-enabled sustainability leadership. - Akash Saraf, Founder and CEO of TheAgentic, said the future of AI lies in combining technology with domain expertise and collaborative ecosystems.

Between the lines: - The workshop reflected a broader shift in sustainability work, where digital transformation is no longer assumed to be low-carbon by default. - AI can cut emissions in one part of a business while raising energy use elsewhere through computing infrastructure. - The new standard for sustainability teams is a full lifecycle review of digital tools, including electricity use, carbon intensity, water consumption, hardware lifecycle, transparency and social impact. - The event also highlighted a skills gap: companies are adopting AI quickly, but many professionals still lack fluency in both AI and sustainability. - That gap is pushing businesses to seek teams that understand technology impact, not just technology performance. - External projections underscore the pressure. The International Energy Agency has projected global electricity consumption from data centres could nearly double to around 945 terawatt-hours by 2030, or just under 3% of global electricity demand. - The International Energy Agency also expects data-centre electricity use to grow about 15% annually from 2024 to 2030, faster than demand growth in other sectors. - Goldman Sachs Research has estimated global data-centre power demand could rise about 160% by 2030, with data centres’ share of global electricity use climbing to 3% to 4% by the end of the decade. - Goldman Sachs also warned carbon dioxide emissions from data centres may more than double between 2022 and 2030 if growth is not matched with cleaner power and more efficient infrastructure. - The Environmental and Energy Study Institute reported in 2025 that large data centres can consume up to 5 million gallons of water per day, about the same as a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people.

What’s next: - IICSR USA said it plans more in-person and online executive education programs focused on AI, sustainability, ESG leadership, climate innovation and the regenerative economy. - The organization aims to deepen collaboration among businesses, policymakers, academia, investors, climate-tech founders and technology leaders. - As AI becomes more embedded in global business systems, companies are likely to face more pressure to show that AI is not only profitable and efficient, but also responsible. - The broader debate over data-centre growth, grid capacity, renewable energy access and water use is likely to intensify across the U.S., Europe and Asia.

The bottom line: - AI is becoming a core sustainability issue, not just a technology trend. - Palo Alto’s message was simple: AI can support climate goals, but only if companies measure and manage its environmental cost as carefully as its business value.