Per this article, here are five things you might want to pay attention to in 2026:

 

Addressing the energy impact of AI: 

  • Every time you choose to use AI by clicking on ChatGPT or one of the other LLM tools, the energy used to produce that answer is 8x – 10x the energy used by a Google search.
  • This year, the electrical consumption of data centers is expected to be 1,050 terawatts, or #5 in global demand (China is #1, USA is #2, India is #3 and the EU is #4).
  • Besides the errors, privacy rights violations, reduced quality, and dumbing down of your employees, the energy demand growth is not sustainable.
  • What are you doing about it in your company?

Resurgence in local action and community resilience:

  • Local and regional organization efforts on climate and environmental sustainability will continue to grow.
  • This will provide a greater opportunity for companies to take a leadership role in their communities.
  • Is your company leading, following or ignoring this opportunity?

Physical risk from climate change is expected to increase:

  • The cost (insurance and recovery) of climate change damage to your company will continue to grow.
  • Are you budgeting for climate change risks?
  • Are you helping to reduce this risk or just waiting for it to come?

The realization that nature is an asset is growing:

  • The first line of climate change defense for your company and family is nature. The weaker it is, the weaker we are.
  • What is your company doing to protect its main defensive ally?

Continued evolution of carbon markets and transparency:

  • Quality carbon credits are critical for the short-term balancing of the AI demand surge. A move by many companies from carbon neutral to net negative, to help us get to an overall net zero, will occur.
  • Demand for transparency in claims (ie, are you certified sustainable or not?) will make greenwashing harder.
  • Is your company pursuing net negative, net zero or carbon neutral? If not, why not?
  • Is your company making green claims without being certified sustainable? If so, why?

 

If you want to get in front of the above, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.