“Margins are under pressure.”

“Let’s park ESG until the next cycle.”

That thinking is everywhere right now. But each quarter of delay adds hidden costs: wasted energy, inefficient operations, regulatory exposure and missed innovation. Meanwhile, competitors are already turning sustainability into a source of growth.

Sustainability doesn’t have to come at the expense of performance. Among others, AI powered sustainability, can become a real driver of value, especially in today’s climate of economic pressure and regulatory complexity.

Case for Change

Inaction has a price you can now measure. Carbon taxes, volatile input costs and investor scrutiny are making the cost of delay clear. At the same time, many ESG programs still struggle to demonstrate near-term returns.

AI can help bridge this gap. It helps link sustainability to efficiency, cost savings and faster, data-driven decision-making. Predictive models can identify where energy, materials or time are being wasted and show how that waste affects margins. The case for action becomes financial, in addition to purpose driven.

Clear Shared Vision

AI is not the goal. Value creation is. Leaders who succeed align around one ambition: making sustainability contribute to business performance, not compete with it, generating impact and value.

That means applying AI where it has clear business relevance – across operations, supply chains, finance and ESG reporting – so that sustainability efforts translate into better decisions, stronger performance and increased trust.

When impact is clearly linked to KPIs, and teams understand how their work drives results, sustainability becomes a shared ambition across the organisation.

Feasible Plan

Start where it counts. Big transformations often stall, especially with AI evolving fast and teams still learning. Begin with a few focused use cases that deliver clear value, quickly and visibly. For example:

• Automated ESG data collection reduces reporting time by up to 70%, lowers audit fees and improves accuracy, leading to fewer fines and stronger market trust.
• AI-optimised energy, water and logistics can cut energy use by 15–30% and reduce scrap by double digits, directly boosting margins.
• Predictive risk modelling enables earlier warnings on climate and supply chain disruptions, helping avoid multi-million-euro losses.

Early wins build momentum, unlock resources and clear the path to broader impact.

Organisation & Capability to Deliver

Technology alone isn’t enough. What sets leaders apart is how they build the organisation to act on insights. The most agile companies empower cross-functional teams, combining operational experience with sustainability knowledge and data fluency.

This leadership investment turns one-off pilots into repeatable results, reducing time spent on compliance and shifting focus to where the business creates real value and impact.

Sustainability doesn’t have to be a trade-off. With the right use of AI, it delivers measurable business value now and unlocks competitive advantage for the future.