Best of LinkedIn: Sustainability & Green ICT CW 16/ 17

Sustainability & Green ICT entered a more execution-driven phase, with companies translating climate ambitions into measurable technology decisions. The strongest momentum came from cloud carbon transparency, AI efficiency, water-aware data centers, and software-level emissions control, supported by new tools and partnerships that connect sustainability with cost reduction, resilience, and operational accountability.

Date

May 1, 2026

Sustainability & Green ICT

Methodology: Every two weeks we collect most relevant posts on LinkedIn for selected topics and create an overall summary only based on these posts. If you´re interested in the single posts behind, you can find them here: https://linktr.ee/thomasallgeyer. Have a great read!

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If you prefer listening, check out our podcast summarizing the most relevant insights from Sustainability & Green ICT CW 16/ 17:

AI Footprint & Green AI

AI sustainability moved from abstract concern to measurable operating risk across infrastructure, model design, and usage intensity
Inference, token-heavy workflows, and agentic AI emerged as recurring pressure points for energy demand and emissions control
Efficient model selection gained relevance, with smaller models, caching, carbon-aware scheduling, and model sufficiency positioned as practical levers
GreenPT and Google highlighted efficiency-driven AI infrastructure through renewable hosting, optimized models, and improved TPU carbon performance

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Cloud Transparency & GreenOps

Cloud sustainability shifted toward operational visibility by workload, region, time, energy mix, and infrastructure utilization
FinOps and observability became pragmatic entry points for linking cloud cost optimization with measurable emissions reduction
Antarctica, AWS, and Greenpixie advanced the market through cloud intelligence, improved carbon dashboards, and AI-related impact metrics
Open source tools such as SCI, Carmen, and Impact Framework strengthened the move toward comparable and auditable measurement

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Data Centers & Water

Data centers became the central credibility test for Green ICT, driven by AI growth, grid constraints, and cooling demand
Water consumption moved into focus as operators assessed cooling design, reclaimed water, and closed-loop infrastructure models
Oracle, Veolia, AWS, and Planon highlighted practical approaches around water-positive operations, cooling efficiency, and energy workflows
Alternative designs such as wooden data centers and advanced cooling concepts challenged conventional infrastructure assumptions

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Sustainable Software

Green software matured from awareness topic to engineering discipline across architecture, coding, data pipelines, and lifecycle management
Inefficient code, storage, databases, and LLM calls were positioned as hidden drivers of cost and emissions
Carbon-aware scheduling, LoRA, database optimization, and lifecycle reviews emerged as practical reduction mechanisms
Blauer Engel certification and Carbon 2C reflected growing demand for credibility, standards, and repeatable software sustainability practices

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Circular IT

Circular IT gained relevance beyond hardware reuse, expanding into infrastructure recovery, data reduction, and SAP system optimization
Refurbished devices showed direct social and environmental value through second-life use cases in digital education
SAP data archiving was framed as a strong lever for lowering storage cost, infrastructure load, and carbon impact
Avilastar, TJC Group, GoCodeGreen, and n2s connected circularity with software efficiency, AI optimization, and material recovery

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Reporting & Standards

Mandatory reporting increased pressure for auditable IT, software, cloud, and AI carbon data
CSRD created stronger incentives to include digital emissions within enterprise sustainability and risk management scopes
IDC, Green Software Foundation, and Carmen reflected market maturity in carbon management software and open measurement standards
Fossil-free internet discussions intensified scrutiny of hyperscaler transparency, fossil energy reliance, and data center accountability

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Product Launches

AWS Sustainability Console improved cloud carbon visibility and replaced the Customer Carbon Footprint Tool
Antarctica Cloud Intelligence linked cloud bills, infrastructure decisions, cost reduction, and carbon accountability
Greenpixie expanded AI and LLM sustainability measurement across CO2, water, and electricity consumption
Planon launched a data center operations platform covering maintenance, compliance, lifecycle management, alarms, and energy workflows

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Partnerships & Ecosystems

Veolia and AWS advanced water-positive data center operations through reclaimed water and reduced cooling water demand
Avilastar and TJC Group connected SAP archiving with carbon intelligence, ILM, and legacy system decommissioning
Google and SEMI strengthened semiconductor climate collaboration through cross-industry sustainability frameworks
GoCodeGreen and n2s explored combined approaches across software optimization, infrastructure recovery, and material reuse

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