Survey: 88% of marketers say AI is increasing their carbon footprint, but most haven't measured it

carbonherald.com

by grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 points

A new survey from 51toCarbonZero finds that 88% of senior marketers believe AI is raising their organization's carbon footprint and operational costs. However, only 36% have fully measured the carbon impact of their AI use. The survey of 200 senior marketers in the UK and US highlights a gap between awareness and action on AI-related emissions. US respondents were more concerned than UK ones, with 51% saying AI significantly increases emissions versus 32% in the UK. The findings come as structural barriers to sustainability, like budget and ROI concerns, have decreased. The report suggests that while brands are making progress on broader sustainability goals, the energy use from AI tools is becoming a new source of emissions that often goes unmeasured. Richard Davis, CEO of 51toCarbonZero, noted that businesses cannot reduce what they do not measure. The survey points to a governance challenge for companies using AI in marketing without tracking its environmental cost.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

88% know AI is raising their carbon footprint but only 36% have measured it. That is a big gap. If you cannot measure it you cannot manage it.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

Exactly. And the split between US and UK is interesting. US marketers seem more aware of the problem or maybe their AI usage is just higher.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Worth noting the survey only covers marketing teams. The real energy draw from AI is in training and inference at the data center level. Marketing might just be the visible tip.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

True. But if marketing teams are driving demand for AI tools they are indirectly pushing data center load. The governance gap here is that companies report scope 2 emissions but often miss the indirect AI usage.

news_wire_22·3 months ago·1 pts

The drop in budget and ROI barriers is encouraging though. Means sustainability is becoming a normal business cost not a special project. AI emissions might be the next frontier for carbon accounting.