UK firms lack data to prove AI’s green credentials

More than half of UK IT decision-makers say their organisations cannot accurately measure the emissions generated by AI workloads, even as most believe AI is speeding progress towards net-zero and wider ESG goals.

Research from data centre service provider Telehouse Europe found that 56% of respondents said their organisations struggle to measure the emissions of AI workloads accurately. The company said the issue creates a barrier for businesses that want to demonstrate the environmental impact of AI use inside their operations.

The findings point to a wider gap between confidence in AI as a sustainability lever and the data used to verify that claim. Telehouse Europe reported that 89% of UK IT decision-makers said AI is accelerating their ability to achieve net-zero emissions and broader ESG targets. The research said the lack of reliable emissions data leaves enterprises without evidence that links AI adoption to measurable environmental outcomes.

Spending priorities

The survey also highlighted competing priorities in AI investment decisions. Telehouse Europe said 45% of IT decision-makers listed sustainability as a top priority for AI-related spending. Respondents more often prioritised productivity at 62% and cost at 49%.

The research suggested this split between stated ambition and procurement focus could shape how organisations design AI programmes and assess their outcomes. Many firms appear to view sustainability as a strategic objective for the decade while continuing to prioritise near-term operational metrics when budgets get allocated.

2030 targets

At a long-term planning level, the research showed strong belief in AI's role in meeting environmental commitments. Telehouse Europe found that 79% of IT decision-makers said AI is essential to meeting their 2030 sustainability targets.

Operational choices did not consistently reflect that intent. Only 23% of respondents said 'renewable energy mix and efficiency' was a key factor when choosing an AI infrastructure partner, according to Telehouse Europe. That points to a limited role for energy sourcing criteria in supplier selection for AI workloads, despite the high electricity demand associated with model training and inference.

Telehouse Europe framed this as a governance challenge as AI use becomes more central to business processes. Emissions measurement for AI workloads remains difficult for many organisations because the work often runs across shared infrastructure, multiple locations, and different service providers. Firms also face varying reporting methods across data centres and cloud services. The survey results suggest many organisations have not yet established consistent internal reporting for AI-related energy consumption and emissions.

Resilience questions

The research also looked at infrastructure resilience as AI workloads grow in importance. Telehouse Europe reported that 93% of IT decision-makers said geopolitical uncertainty is influencing infrastructure strategy.

However, respondents also indicated that switching AI inference capacity could take time during disruption. Telehouse Europe said 59% of IT decision-makers reported it would take more than an hour to switch AI inference workloads to an alternative site if a regional incident took their primary UK AI data centre offline. The company linked that to preparedness challenges as organisations increase reliance on AI for business-critical services.

Telehouse Europe positions itself in the data centre market and operates colocation facilities, including the London Docklands campus. The company said it uses electricity from 100% renewable sources for its data centres.

Telehouse Europe Executive Vice President and General Manager Mark Pestridge commented on the gap between confidence and measurement.

"AI has earned its place in sustainability strategies but belief in its potential is running ahead of evidence. Firms are confident in AI's contribution to efficiency, yet far less equipped to measure or verify its environmental cost. Until carbon visibility improves and sustainability becomes a core criterion in spending and infrastructure decisions, the sector's green ambitions will remain more aspiration than proof," said Mark Pestridge, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Telehouse Europe.

The survey results add to a growing debate about how organisations account for emissions from digital services, including AI, and how that information feeds into ESG reporting and procurement. Many businesses now treat AI as a mainstream technology investment. The research suggests a mismatch between that adoption curve and the maturity of carbon accounting practices specific to AI workloads.

Telehouse Europe said the research indicates that carbon measurement and operational resilience will remain live issues for UK enterprises as AI usage expands across customer services, analytics, and automation.